Danganronpa -1: The First Hopeful Academy of Despair
by CaptainPancakes
Summary: A year before despair managed to strike the world, nineteen students were invited to participate in a school far away: Hope's Peak Academy. It was the school of hope, and an ideal school to follow your dreams. However, these hopeful students soon find that despair isn't far away. Would there be any hope left in despair's arsenal of secrets? Daily updates. Rated T. (diff. desc. :P)
1. Introduction

Hello! This is my first story.

Like, ever. So my writing is sort of amateurish. So I'm looking for feedback, really, since I think I'd like to be a writer. I loved Danganronpa, so, I decided to make a non-canon story about it, since well, Danganronpa has lots of opportunity for fan fiction.

Anyways, feedback I'm particularly looking for is about my weaknesses, which I mostly think is repetition and length of my stories, either going too short, or going too long worrying that it's too short. This story uses fake characters, so below is a character list. I'm not really aware of the whole Japanese name honorifics things, so the first time is first, then the last name. Then again, please comment about whether or not I got the order wrong, or if both of the names are considered last names in Japan. Because that would be embarrassing if I left it like that ^^"

**Characters: **  
Ayako Kawasumi – Super Highschool Level Pianist

Hideaki Nanase – Super Highschool Level Multi-Talent

Rin Nanase – Super Highschool Level Ballet Dancer

Tomakazu Ohtsoka – Super Highschool Level Football Player

Saya Omoirasha – Super Highschool Level Actress

Aaron Tsuukyama – Super Highschool Level Scientist

Akira Yamazaki – Super Highschool Level War Expert

Megumi Sato – Super Highschool Level Driver

Rikiya Emiya – Super Highschool Level Sailor

Miyu Okumura – Super Highschool Level Painter

Kouichi Akazawa – Super Highschool Level Sniper

Noburu Mochizuki – Super Highschool Level Paintballer

Takako Fujioka – Super Highschool Level Teacher/Tutor (which sounds better?)

Suguru Hidaka – Super Highschool Level Animal Trainer

Kichiro Suguro – Super Highschool Level Mathematician

Taisuke Saionji – Super Highschool Level Con Artist

Setsuna Koizumi – Super Highschool Level Priestess

Kyouko Kasuga – Super Highschool Level Texter

Senji Kiyomasa – Super Highschool Level ?

Roger – Super Highschool Level Highschool Pet


	2. Prologue I: My Unexpected Despair

It was like a dream. Me – an ordinary girl with a boring talent. To get into Hope's Peak Academy was a dream to everyone, and it was happening to me. What special talent did I have that mattered to get into this school? No – that didn't matter. What only mattered was that I was here; ready to take on anything this school had to offer. After all, I am the Super Highschool Level Pianist!

Thinking back to myself, I suppose being a "pianist" is sort of a boring way to get into such a prestigious school. I mean – I probably couldn't count the amount of skilled piano players in the world. Obviously, there are people out there who are just as good as me. Yet here I was – still standing outside the school, proud of myself, feeling good about myself.

Then again, what about the others? What kinds of talents do they have?

Of course, I DID do a little research before I got into this school. Luckily, there are even a couple people I know from my school! But, reading the mental list I printed in my mind, there _was_ a lot more people than normal who I found was attending the school. Nineteen students! Excluding me, that's eighteen other Super Highschoolers, who'd be attending the school with me.

That made me feel a little better, I admit. If there are nineteen kids in the school, it's impossible for all of them to overweigh my talent. It would feel awful to have the most boring skill possible.

Okay – enough talking. I have to get going.

I glanced at my watch – it was already 7:00 AM. The letter I got said school started at 7:30, so… I'm early.

"Damn it," I said to myself. I always hated being early. It always made me feel like a teacher's pet, getting into school before everyone else. I was never the one to actually enjoy school.

I sighed, and prepared to enter the school. Nothing good would have come out of just standing there. I smiled, stepped forward, and opened the doors.

These doors presented themselves with hope. Entering these doors would mean entering a new world – a new world of opportunity for me. What could await me behind these school walls? My mind was buzzing with questions as I stepped into the hallways. What kind of classmates will I have? What kinds of classes will I attend? What kind of hope would be given to me?

Heh… yeah. "Hope." Of course, I didn't know this at first. I remember standing outside the walls of the school, thinking about all the opportunities I would get to follow my passion. I thought I would eat the best food. I thought I would take the best classes.

And I thought I'd meet the best friends, and we'd all live happily within the schools – taking the hope that the promise gave to us.

But, this story wouldn't be the story it was if I weren't wrong. Obviously, something had to happen to make it interesting.

Like, for example, when I stepped into the school…

I blacked out.

_==To Be Continued==_


	3. Prologue II: My Unexpected Despair

This chapter is just the introduction to the characters. New chapter up by tomorrow.

* * *

…

…

It was darkness for me.

"Huh?"

That was all I could mutter.

I looked around, and I was in what looked like to be the infirmary. Why was I in the infirmary? I thought to myself, confused, with a pounding head. "Damn…"

I began to realize the reality of what was happening right now. I tried to remember the events that just occurred for me as I entered the school. First, I was standing outside the building, thinking about how great my new life would be. Then, as I entered the school, my vision started to blur and I fainted.

I glanced around, and tried to take notice of my surroundings. The infirmary was painted with white walls, and there were three beds lined across the wall with curtains surrounding them. I was in the fourth one, the one farthest from the door.

The ceilings lights were bright, and began to render be braindead. My head was still hurting, and I felt faint as I tried to stand up from the bed.

I was still in my clothes, and it looked like a teacher brought me here if I didn't have time to change into a gown. But, oddly, there was no nurse to be seen. The infirmary was relatively small, compared to the one they had at my old school. It was just a wide open space, with three beds, a desk, and a fridge at the far end of the room.

A… fridge?

"Perfect," I said to myself. My throat was deserted from any kinds of fluid – I felt if I didn't take a drink soon, I'd probably die, or something. "Let's see here…" I said as I opened the fridge, and what came next was a huge shock.

There were packets of blood in the fridge, labeled and organized by their blood type – A, B, C, the good stuff. But, the hell was blood doing in a fridge? Forgetting that I was expecting a nice cold soda, or something! Why does an infirmary need blood in a school?

Never mind that, I needed to get out. I looked at my watch – 9:00 AM.

What the heck?! 9:00? My classes start at 7:30!

I bolted out the door, forgetting about the events that just transpired. Okay, my start to the school year was weird! I fainted as I entered the school – I guess that's just normal. I was nervous. But how could I be knocked out for two hours?

"Jeez… How nervous am I?"

Running around the hallways, it seemed everyone was already in their classes. There was no activity to be seen anywhere. It was just some dimly lit hallways leading to classrooms I know I didn't have to enter. I was beginning to panic a little; being late on my first day did not seem to look good on my reputation.

"Okay, okay, think…" I must have been desperate to talk to myself. "Okay, there's an admissions building a little off from the school. I can go there and get my schedule."

I had no time to waste; I ran straight for the entrance, grabbed the handles of the door, and let the natural light outside shine on me. I knew it would be alright – at this point, I had hope. I had bundles of hope. This light that shone on me seemed like to be the perfect sign, that the rest of my life would be hopeful.

But that was my first lie I told to myself.

Looking around, I was stunned to see what awaited me on the outside. There were chain fences surrounding the campus, with barbed wire running across the top of it. The fences were tall, mighty, and showed signs of no escape. The fact that I felt trapped here like a zoo animal was worse enough, but I realized, as I stared out in the open, that there was something much worse than being trapped in someplace that I thought would give me hope.

This was a different place. This isn't where I came. Looking around, it looked like a college campus. Why? Why was there a campus? I didn't come to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere! But, this campus… it was so big. It was like a neighborhood. There were large buildings, dormitories, and there were shops down in the center, and there were other places to visit like a movie theater, and there was even a football stadium that I saw in the distance. But… I was… I didn't come here.

First things first, I thought to myself, was to find out what the hell was going on.

Looking for some answers, some salvation, I suppose you could say I found it eventually. I was looking around the campus for, what felt like an hour, but was probably ten minutes. I decided, it would be a good idea to check the cafeteria. 9:00, seems like a good, snack time, right? I think meeting the other students, that's what they all thought. 9:00… snack time. I could really use some cookies…

I opened the doors to the cafeteria, and what I saw was my new classmates, looking at me as I opened the door.

"Huh?! Not everyone came yet?" someone said.

"Don't blame her," said another. "We all woke up, didn't we?"

"Hey, you," someone else said. "Did you see anyone else around campus?" I shook my head, and counted heads. I only saw… sixteen students. What about the other two? Never mind that… sixteen students?

I remembered… me and three of my other friends were going to attend this school together. Why is there sixteen? I tried to collect my thoughts, but before I could, some dude with a blue button-up shirt and brown hair came up to me.

"Well!" he said with a smile. "I suppose it's a good enough time than any other to start our introductions!"

I recognized him from my research. His name was...

_**KOUICHI AKAZAWA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL SNIPER_

"Nice to meet you!" He said, holding out his hand. "I'm –"

"Kouichi, right?" I interrupted. "I know…"

"What? How did you know?" he asked. He scratched his head and sighed with content. "I'm supposed to be a contract killer… no one should have heard of me."

The words, "contract killer," rung through my head and made me shudder. In front of me was a professional killer. Should I not have known about him? He a contract killer! I'm not supposed to know THAT!

I guess Kouichi could see the fear in my face, because he started to laugh. "It's okay!" he said. "Well, I guess lots of people know I'm a contract killer now because of that annoying thread online… that's where you found out who I was, right?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, absolutely! I didn't – like, spy, or something!"

He nodded, then opened his eyes wide and pushed them near my face. "That's good," he started. "Cause if you were, I'd have to kill you!"

"WHAAAAAAT?!"

Kouichi laughed some more, and patted me on the head. "No, I couldn't kill a nice girl! I'd retire before that! I only kill mean, heartless ones!"

I laughed a fake laugh to make nice with Kouichi, and then I started to "analyze" Kouichi. He had brown hair, a blue button-up shirt, and black dress pants, but something was weird about Kouichi. I knew he was a teen, but for a contract killer, I didn't expect him to look so… skinny.

"H-hey," I mumbled. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but… you're sort of skinnier than I pictured you to be."

Kouichi nodded and held his chin up. "This would be the proud work of a contract killer who is masking his identity! For a contract killer, being sneaky is everything, and no one in hell would believe that a skinny teenager like me could easily put a bullet in their head with a pistol from a mile away!"

"Yeah… I guess you're right." I sighed. Damn… being a sniper is way out of my league.

"Well, I'd love to talk some more, but I think everyone else is waiting to meet you…" as he left and headed towards the kitchen, someone else got up from their seat and walked forward.

He took out his hands, and we shook. I looked into his face as he looked at the ceiling, like he'd rather be somewhere else rather than talk to me, and I found out he was the Super Highschool Level Sailor.

_**RIKIYA EMIYA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL SAILOR_

"Rikiya," he said, introducing his name. He took out a beer from his pocket and started to drink.

"Um… Rikiya," I said. "And, aren't you too young to drink?"

"Yes, probably," he sighed. "But obviously the law of the outside world doesn't apply when we've been knocked out and sent to the middle of nowhere… No sign of teachers either."

Rikiya Emiya – while on the outside, he's muscular, strong, and easy to get along to, he seemed to be a little whinier than I perceived him to be. A professional sailor, he made tons of trips to foreign countries to deliver different products, and he won over 10 sailboat races. Sailboat racing, versus piano playing… his is definitely more interesting.

"Want to try a beer?" he offered, giving out a weak smile. It seemed like he was trying to make friends – there's that at least.

"No thanks," I said. "I'm good." He nodded, and took out another beer.

"Drink two a day, and you won't ever get drunk. Though, I can't believe I'm wasting my second beer before lunchtime even starts…" He sighed and sat back down.

Why do these kids have such mechanical ways to greet me? Sitting back down and taking turns… they're like robots.

Speaking of robots, a strange kid in a lab coat decided to waltz his way to greet me in a strange walk.

"I. AM A. ROBOT." he said fiercely. "MUST. KILL. HUMANS."

"Yeah… you do that," I said, as I scanned his face for his identity. He was…

_**AARON TSUUBYAKA **_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL SCIENTIST_

"Yahoo!" he said. "I do a fucking sick robot! Don't you think so?"

"Well," I said. "It's the first time anyone walked up to me and did a robot dance. So, yeah, I guess, comparatively…"

"Yeah, that's a pretty damn good compliment," he said, smiling, and giving me a thumbs up. "Man, as a scientist, I can only dream of one day, building a robot to do my every whim, while I work on even bigger things…"

"Bigger things?"

"Heck yeah!" he said, with a southern twang. "Cancer, HIV and AIDS, influenza! You know it, I want to fix it!"

"I'm, pretty sure influenza is already curable. Or at least preventable."

"Huh?"

"Yeah… the flu isn't that hard to fight back."

"W-well… damn." He sat back down with a glum look, and this cheery girl wearing a white biker's helmet came up to me.

"Fancy meeting you!" she said. "I'm Megumi Sato!"

_**MEGUMI SATO**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL DRIVER_

Megumi Sato… she's the famous racecar driver, who broke barriers with age, being only fifteen years old when she started professionally racing. She's not even legal age yet.

"Wanna take a spin in my car?" she asked enthusiastically. "It's sorta messy, but it's got room for two!"

"Well, I would," I started. "But, we sort of got taken to the middle of nowhere, didn't we?

"Damn," she said. "You're right. I don't have any space to drive…"

"Um, never mind that, but do you even have your car?"

"My what?"

"Your car… I don't think you'd have it with you."

She looked outside the cafeteria windows, and gave me a light smile.

"Damn," she said. "I don't have my car with me, do I?" I nodded. "Oh well! What can you do?" As she hummed away, sitting down with a blissful ignorance, a guy with spiky hair got out of his seat, and walked in front of me.

We took some time exchanging glances, and not really talking, but that wasn't really my fault. This guy had a painfully odd aura. His influence was really strong, and made me feel uncomfortable. I was at least able to recognize who he was.

_**TAISUKE SAIONJI**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL CON ARTIST_

"Um… Hi," I said. As soon as I said that, his first personality took a cliff dive and he unbuttoned his trench coat, and presented me with a deck of cards, and piles of cash.

"Want to play some poker?" he said softly. "That watch on your wrist looks nice."

I looked at him with a sour face, and decided it was probably best not to interact with a professional con artist that much.

"Well, don't leave me hanging," he said even softer. "Am I going to deal a hand, or not?"

"I don't think so," I said.

"Shame, that's a _real_ nice watch you got there."

"Y-yeah…"

Silence.

Following that, there were just moments of silence, before Taisuke finally gave up and sat back down. Going to school with a sniper, racecar driver, and con artist was just crazy…

To take the place of Taisuke, a strange tall looking guy came around. He wore sunglasses, a black jacket, over skin. He didn't bother putting on a shirt under his black jacket, and what was revealed probably wasn't healthy for my wellbeing. His abs were ripped! This guy was buff! I recognized his face from his profile online, but it didn't specify what his talent was.

_**SENJI KIYOMASA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL ?_

"Hello," he said. His voice showed a personality that was rather clichéd. He seemed like one of those normal quiet guys, with no heavy interaction with others.

"You're name is Senji, right?" I asked.

"Correct," he replied. "My full name is Senji Kiyomasa. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I said back. "By the way, I found your profile online, but they never listed your talent."

Senji raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wish to know that?"

I shrugged. "It would just be nice to know."

He shook his head, and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, but I'd rather not reveal my skill just yet. I may in time."

As he sat back down, I stared at him from afar. Senji… who was he? Why didn't he want to reveal his talent?

I didn't have any time to think about this (or anything in general, really), and before I knew it, my other classmate sprung to her feet and pranced over to my side.

_**KYUOKO KASUGA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL TEXTER_

"Hey! Take out your phone!" said Kyuoko.

"What?"

"Huh? Don't you have your phone?"

Come to think of it, I didn't check if I had my phone yet. I searched my pockets, and looked around me, but it seems like I didn't have my phone. That was odd.

"Eh? You don't have your phone?" asked Kyuoko. "That's lame…"

"I must have dropped it on the way over here," I sighed. "That sucks."

"Well, that's okay," she said. "I'm a real fast texter though… I wanted someone to text with since no one would do it with me." She sighed and decided to wander back to her seat.

Great conversation, I thought to myself. I decided to stop standing and let others introduce themselves to me – my feet were tired of running around all of campus anyways.

I took a seat next to a shy looking girl. Her beret on her head was covering her green hair, and she was clasping a paintbrush very nervously.

"Hey," I said. "You're the Super Highschool Level Painter, right?"

"Eh?!" she said, acting as if she was shocked anyone spoke to her. She very suddenly twisted her body to face mine, and greeted me with a bow. "Y-yes! You're right! I'm the painter!"

_**MIYU OKUMURA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL PAINTER_

"N-nice to meet you!" she said nervously. She had a fake smile on the whole time, as if she was scared to interact with others.

"I, uh, saw some of your work online," I said, trying to come up with a conversation.

"O-oh! That's cool! Uh, did you, like it? Or maybe you didn't? It's okay if you didn't!"

"No, no! Your work is amazing!"

Miyu looked nice, but she looked so frail, and she was very shy. It's strange to think she had any interaction with others.

"Miyu, you don't need to act all scared," said the guy in front of us. He had a very delinquent look, with a yellow stripe of hair on the top of his head. He had three earrings – two on his left ear, and the third being a diamond stud on his right. He had the perfect look to be the worst student ever, but yet…

_**KICHIRO SUGURO**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL MATHEMATICIAN_

Yet, he turned out to be a math genius.

"Hmph, you looking at someone?"

"N-no…"

"Good. I hate being looked at. Miyu, want me to get you a snack?"

"Oh! Yes! Thank you Kichiro!" said Miyu. Her voice had a certain comfort to it, I guess she and Kichiro were friends? "I know what you're thinking," said Miyu to me, silently. "But he's a great student; he just happens, to look like that."

"No, no!" I protested. "I wasn't thinking that at all! But, do you two know each other?"

"Yes, we do," said Miyu. I swear I saw her blush a little, but her smile wasn't fake this time, and it was a smile of warmth. "He went to school with me, before we got invited to attend here."

"You two were friends?"

"I, myself, don't really know," she said. "What's it like to have a friend? I don't know the answer to that. But, I think he sees me as a friend, which is why I'm sort of loyal to him."

I nodded, and smiled.

"Well, I could be your friend!" I said with a smile.

"WH-what?! D-don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not! Miyu, you should open up a little more, if you want to make any friends…"

"O-okay, I'm sorry. It's just, you know, I never really acted socially. I got along with everyone but –"

"Oh save it, let's just be friends, okay?"

Miyu nodded and smiled. "Th-thanks!"

It felt good to help someone. I always was pretty popular at school. I had lots of friends, everyone wanted to hang out with me – yet I wasn't as snobby as some of my other peers who'd bully their way to the top.

As me and Miyu were talking, someone from the other table started to yell. I looked over, and my mouth instantly hit the floor as this girl with a parrot on her shoulder started to rant at us, making even more noise than we were.

"Will you two keep it down?! You're scaring my parrot!"

_**SUGURU HIDAKA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL ANIMAL TRAINER_

"Jeez! The nerve of some people!"

"You know, you could calm down a little," said another girl sitting at her table. This girl wore silver rimmed glasses, and was holding a book that looked to be a Bible. Instantly, I knew who this other girl was.

_**SETSUNA KOIZUMI**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL PRIESTESS_

"It won't do any good at all for you to scream across the room, little girl! Mrs. Teacher should know that the best!"

I looked at my classmate whom Setsuna was referring to. She was probably the Highschool Level Tutor, as she was the one who reacted most to Setsuna's comment. A little too much, maybe.

"I'm not a teacher!" the girl protested. "I don't even want to be! I just got invited here because I'm a great tutor! I could preach the testaments better than you!"

"What was that?" said Setsuna, as calm as a flower in a breezy wind. Setsuna acted so exotic, and calm, it wasn't exactly easy to read her personality.

"You heard me!" continued the other girl. "If I'm a tutor, maybe I can "teach" the Bible better than you!"

"The two never got along since when we got here," said Miyu. "They scare me a little."

I looked at the other girl, who was beginning to rage a little at Setsuna. I'm not sure if raging at a priestess is good karma, but whatever floats her boat.

_**TAKAKO FUJIOKA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL TUTOR_

"Jeez!" started Takako again. "You don't always have to pick up a fight, Setsuna!"

"On the contrary," she replied. "I was only making a harmless joke, picking up on the stereotype of numerous teachers across the world. You just overreacted and assumed it to be an insult."

"Why you…" she growled.

"Would you guys quit fighting?" said another guy. He had on a T-Shirt of the United States, which could only mean one thing. This guy probably was…

_**AKIRA YAMAZAKI**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL WAR GENIUS_

"Seriously, you've been doing it all day," he sighed. "I don't want to label it as a war, since then I'd have to remember what the hell you guys have been talking about…"

In my mind I agreed, but I really didn't want to fight against a priest, so I decided to be a nice little girl and not talk. Looking around the room, there was one table in the corner. Something about it caught me by surprise.

Next to Akira, was a girl whom I knew very well. Everyone probably knew her, but only because she was such a famous idol. "Hey!" I said to Miyu. "Is that?.."

_**SAYA OMOIRASHA **_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL ACTRESS_

"Yeah, I thought you looked up the thread though?" asked Miyu. "You shouldn't be surprised to see her."

"I know," I said. "But reading about it and actually seeing a celebrity is different! I wonder how she's like!"

"She's sort of a diva," explained Miyu. "She demands things from everybody. I'm not sure I like her."

I stared at Saya, who was stirring a cup of tea with a spoon. Saya yawned and took a sip of her tea.

"She looks normal."

As soon as I said that, the most clichéd thing happened, and Saya spit out her tea on the floor, and threw the cup against the wall.

"This tea tastes like crap! C-R-A-P! I don't drink piles of junk like THIS!"

"I stand corrected…" I said to myself.

I scanned the cafeteria again for something to look at. There was a yellow camera located next to the clock, which read 9:11 AM. Besides the camera, clock, and window, there wasn't much else to look at in the cafeteria. What I noticed next though, was a table in the corner of the cafeteria, which managed to surprise me.

Not that the table itself was odd. It was a little dusty, and I could see a few spider webs. That's just because it hasn't been used or cleaned yet. What did surprise me, was another student, sitting in the chair, resting his head against a clenched fist.

That struck me as odd. There were only eighteen students listed on that thread online, but the fact that I met all the other students in the cafeteria, could only mean that this guy was obviously someone who no one knew about, since I knew the others that were attending this school.

"Who's that?" I asked Miyu, and pointed to the corner where the kid was sitting.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "This guy is sort of weird; he never introduced himself to us."

He noticed us staring at him, and glared at our direction, like us looking at him was harmful to himself. I could tell he mouthed the words, look away, and he faced the wall again, as if he said nothing. Miyu looked at me, and she could tell that I was a little peeved off.

"Tch! Leave him," I said. "If he doesn't want to introduce himself, he doesn't have too."

_**?**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL UNKNOWN IDENTITY_

As minutes passed by, we were all getting more restless and irritable by the second. It was obvious nothing was happening – but something should have. We were invited to Hope's Peak Academy. At least the principal should have appeared.

"Aren't we all here?" sighed Akira. "What's going to happen?"

"Is the fact that nothing is happening worrying to you?" asked Kichiro fiercely. "Doesn't it worry you the slightest that we've been taken to this campus in the middle of nowhere? We don't even know where we are, except that we're on some sort of college campus…"

"This simply doesn't do," sighed Saya. "I wish to be escorted out of school grounds."

"I would love to drive you out of school!" said Megumi. "But have you seen a car I could use?"

"I only drive the most expensive and luxurious of cars," sneered Saya. "I wouldn't dare ride with a simpleton like you."

"Wow Mrs. Omoirasha!" exclaimed Megumi. "You're a diva, aren't you?"

"Loud and proud," she mumbled back.

"The fact that nothing is happening," I started, interrupting Saya and Megumi's "conversation." "It might be because we're not all here yet."

"Huh? What are you taking about?" asked Akira. "Who else is missing?"

"Well, my friends," I said. "Three guys I know from back at my school were invited to come here with me."

"Do you know their phone numbers?" asked Kyouko. "Perhaps I could call them?"

I nodded, and told Kyouko the phone number of one of my friends, since I didn't know the others off the top of my head.

As Kyouko called, I could hear voices on the other end of the phone.

"We're at the cafeteria," said Kyouko through her phone. Not soon after the call was placed, did my three friends, the people that comforted me, walked through the room.

"Ayako!" exclaimed Rin.

_**RIN NANASE**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL BALLET DANCER_

"Are you doing okay?" asked Tomakazu, with urgency in his voice. "Are you hurt?"

_**TOMAKAZU OHTSOKA**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL FOOTBALL PLAYER_

"Ha! Did you see that football stadium?" exclaimed Tomakazu.

"They have a football stadium? Wish they had a paintball field…"

_**NOBURU MOCHIZUKI**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL PAINTBALLER_

"How ya' doing kid?" he asked me.

I got up to hug my friends, and as we all got settled down, it was time for business. We needed to figure out where we were, and what we were doing here.

However, before we could even begin to discuss our situation, a voice rang through the intercom. It was loud enough to wake up the whole world, and as we covered our ears, we finally thought we got the answer we wanted.

"_FINALLY! You guys are all here! That took WAAAAYYYY too long. I was beginning to get a little bored! Jeez! You bastards really know how to take your sweet ass time, don't you?"_

"Did he just call us… bastards?" asked Tomakazu.

"_Yupperoni! You bet I did! I called you, you bastards!"_

"Eek!" screamed Miyu. "He can hear us?!"

"_You don't have to act all scared! That sort of hurts my feelings… sounds like you don't want to hear my fabulicious voice! It's just a bunch of microphones hidden beneath the walls! No biggie. We just don't want you guys to say anything nasty, so we had them installed."_

"Umm, where are we?" I said, asking the question that was on everyone's mind. "I don't recall ever coming to this campus.

"_Well, well, well! Good question! Why, you're at the second and secondly, Hope's Peak Academy!"_

"Second academy?" asked Kichiro. "What second academy?"

"_Now, now, you all have very good questions. But I'm pretty sure this can ALL wait until we all meet up together! Let's say, the gymnasium at 1:00 PM! You guys can explore the campus to your heart's content! Now, let's make it the best day it can be, you bastards! I'll see you all at the gym, I look forward to it!"_

As the intercom rang to signal the end of the announcement, we all took our hands off our ears and stared at each other.

"The gymnasium?" I said to myself. "He wants us to meet there, at 1:00?"

"He also said we had to explore the campus," said the kid in the corner.

"Are we really going to follow his orders?" I asked.

"I think it'd be best if we listen to this man. We've been overpowered and taken to this campus."

"But, what if, like, that dude on the intercom attacks us?" asked Noburu.

"I have doubts that he'd attack us," replied the kid. "I don't think that man has any murderous intent on us right now. Then again, you could always stay here."

We all stared at each other, thinking about what we should do. On one hand, we would figure out that this trip to the campus was a little joke, and then we'd all go back happily into where we once came. On another hand, we could be attacked at any corner. Certainly, a man with enough power to knock us all out at once, and then take us to this college campus, could have the power to kill each and every one of us.

"If you guys are worried about death," started the kid, "then you're just foolish. The man brought us here for a reason. He's not just going to kill us for no reason.

As the kid walked out the doors, we all stared at each other. Why would there be murderous intent? The guy, on the intercom… He said we were at Hope's Peak Academy. So there wouldn't be any trouble. We were just, taken to Hope's Peak Academy.

…

Weren't we?

I walked over to the doors of the cafeteria, rubbed my hands together, and thought to myself. I thought, and thought, and thought about what would happen next. At this point, I was still surged with a little hope left. I hoped that when I went out of this door that everything would go back to normal.

But when you hope, that doesn't mean that want you want will happen. I hoped that we wouldn't be in some sort of ugly mess, and I hope that we would go back to the real academy. I hoped, and hoped, and hoped. But, like two sides of a coin, if someone has hope…

…then another has despair.

_**Continued in Part III.**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#1

Monokuma: You know, if twenty kids are put together in one room for the rest of their lives…

Monokuma: They'll grow WILD! Kinky! Loud! Noisy! Annoying! My little bear heart couldn't _bear_ to live through that!  
Monokuma: That's why you put them in a BIG college campus. It gives them some growing space.

Monokuma: Though, I wouldn't mind to see some of the kids get their kink on, if you know what I mean!  
Monokuma: But we won't! None of us will! This is a clean society we live in! What are you guys talking about?! You guys are perverts! Each and every one of you!

Monokuma: Now shoo! Go! Leave me be!


	4. Prologue III: My Unexpected Despair

"_Upupupupu! How are you bastards doing?"_

The voice rang on the intercom, ringing through our ears with a painful reminder of what we were up against. This strange man who kidnapped us, and took us to this college campus, would only mean ill-will. That's what we all decided for ourselves.

"_I hope your investigation is going well! You know, this is so exciting, isn't it? Reminder though, it is 12:45 PM as of right now!"_

12:45… This man told us to meet him in the gymnasium at 1:00.

"_If I were you, I'd go to the gymnasium right now. I wouldn't want to __**punish**__ any of you, for something soooo silly."_

With that, the intercom rang, signaling the end of another announcement. I sighed, and looked at my watch as the man shut himself up. It was already 12:46.

Before our investigation, we all decided we'd meet up outside the gymnasium and inform each other of our discoveries. It seemed to be appropriate, but, I wasn't looking forward to it. I didn't want to know what horrors lay in front of us. At this point, I began to see reality as it is. There was no hope in this, it was just a nightmare.

But I'd find out about it soon.

Walking to the gymnasium, I noticed Miyu walking alone. She was looking at what seemed to be the entrance to a corner shop.

"Miyu!" I called out. "How's it going?" Miyu looked at me, and beckoned me to come over. It seemed she had something to tell me.

"Look, Ayako," she said as I was walking over. "I think… this was some sort of store for the students that attended here before us." I peered inside the glass door, and took a quick glance at the inside. There were shelves stocked with junk food, and fridges lined up against the wall containing water, energy drinks, and some soda.

"Looks useful," I said to myself, and I tugged at the door. There was unfortunately no dice, however. The door was locked. "Damn," I said under my breath. "It's locked, Miyu."

"O-oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know… I was too scared to check."

"It's fine," I said. "Let's just head to the gymnasium and meet with the others." Miyu nodded in agreement, and the two of us walked in silence to the entrance of the gym. I looked ahead, and as the doors opening to the gym came in sight, so did the others.

"Now that Ayako is here," started Akira. "Let's start our discoveries. Now, _**ALPHA GROUP #1! **_Share with us your discoveries!"

"I told you not to call us that," Saya sneered. "Even though I am #1, I'd prefer not to be recognized by YOU in such a way."

"Well honey," started Megumi. "We investigated the area around the movie theater."

"It looks up-to-date, at least, since some relatively current movie posters were lined up at the entrance," said Saya.

"But looking further around, we did not seem to find we could go past the movie theater. There was a large chain gate blocking us from the area behind it, and it needs a key," said Setsuna.

"I looked at the dormitories," said Kyouko. "There were lots of plugs in the hallways to charge my phone!"

"Did you see if they worked?" asked Senji. "We should know if we are provided with electricity.

"Actually, I didn't have my charger with me," said Kyouko.

"I think it's safe to say we have electricity," said Rikiya. "The intercom was working, and the lights inside the cafeteria were working as well."

"I checked out the corner shop near the gym…" started Miyu. "I-it was locked, so…"

"Why do we need to know about a corner shop?" Aaron sighed.

"Well, it at least tells us certain buildings are locked, even if we do have access to them," said Rin, defending Miyu.

"That's true…" Aaron murmured.

"Well, I found a cute puppy!" exclaimed Suguru. "I wonder what his name is."

"T-that looks like a Siberian husky!" stammered Rin. "Those things are wild!"

"They're adorable!" snapped Suguru. "Don't insult my little Roger!"

"Roger," looked around in Suguru's arms, and barked at us.

As I looked around the group of people in front of the door, I realized easily that someone was missing. It was that kid, whom was sitting alone in the cafeteria.

"I climbed on top of the main building," Kouichi said. "I scanned the area; it looks like we're trapped here. There are extremely high chain gates surrounding this campus, and they have barbed wire lined up against them."

We all looked disturbed at that news. We were all _trapped_ here. How could we… be trapped? This was just a school, it wasn't a cage… We all looked at each other in silence. There were stares of uncertainty, worry, and worst of all, despair.

But I still carried an ounce of hope, that hope coming from the news we'd receive at 1:00. I looked at my watch again and checked the time. It was 12:57.

"Has anyone seen that other kid from the cafeteria?" I asked.

"You mean that dude who didn't introduce himself to any of us?" asked Tomakazu.

"Tch, the nerve of that guy…" said Noburu.

"I haven't seen him," said Saya. "The likes of him, however, has no right to stare upon me!"

"She is a diva," Takako said, shrugging.

I looked at the time, 12:58. Only two more minutes, but that guy still wasn't here yet. Could something… have happened to him?

As soon as I thought that, a paper was handed to me. I looked at who gave it, and it was the kid from the cafeteria. He looked stern, and grim, but that seemed to be his natural stare.

"What is this?" asked Setsuna, as she was handed a paper.

"It's a map of the school," said the kid. "I drew a map of what we could access."

We all stared at the maps. It looked like we had access to the movie theater, the cafeteria, the main entrance and classrooms, and a park.

"It's not much," the kid sighed. "But if we are forced to stay here, it'll have to do." As quick as he said that, he went into the doors of the gymnasium, to wait for whatever news was awaiting us.

"We should head in too," said Setsuna, calmly, even harder to read.

Senji nodded in agreement and headed towards the building.

"Come on, Roger!" said Suguru, heading into the building.

I gulped, and thought to myself, it'll all be okay. There's nothing to worry about. We're going to live a normal life, outside of these cages we think we're trapped in.

We'll be okay…

We'll be… Okay?

Will we be okay?

As we all gathered together in the gymnasium, we saw on the stage, was a little podium with a logo reading: "Hope's Peak Boarding School."

"Hope's Peak Boarding School?" I said to myself. "So, we've been taken to the boarding school?"

"That helps a bit," sighed Rin in relief. "At least we really aren't in the middle of nowhere."

"It's a little extravagant," said Senji. "But it'll work."

I nodded, and fixed my attention onto the gymnasium stage. It was 1:00 right now, so whoever called us here should have appeared by now. And as soon as my thought came, it looked like the answer I wanted wasn't a good one.

Because what I saw, was a teddy bear, jumping onto the podium, raising his arms, and greeting us. A teddy bear. An alive teddy bear.

"Aloha!" said the teddy bear. "That's how you say hello, in Hawaii!"

"Wh-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" shrieked Tomakazu.

"Is it only me that thinks it's strange?" said Megumi. "Teddy bears don't talk."

Saya's face was flushed with a blue color. "Of course they don't, you idiot! This, this… this toy!"

"Hey!" the bear snapped. "I'm not a toy! I'm Monokuma! Your headmaster, so you'd best show me some respect little girl!"

"Little, girl?!" stammered Saya. "No! I'm the famous actor, Saya Omoirasha, I'm not a little girl!"

"Yeah, yeah," Monokuma sighed. "You're famous and all, but now you're trapped in an abandoned boarding school, doomed to live out the rest of your life here. Isn't that ironic?"

"What?!" I screamed out. "The rest of our life?"

"Oh my gosh," Monokuma angrily yelped. "Let me finish! You keep interrupting me, so I can't explain a damn thing!"

Even with all this commotion, the only one who seemed to be able to remain calm, was that kid who I saw in the cafeteria. Who was this guy?

"Now, I trust you all know each other by now?" swooned Monokuma. "Oho! But I was wrong, wasn't I?" Monokuma pointed his paw at the kid, who was looking at the ceiling, as if nothing that was happening right now affected him in the slightest. "You guys, this guy didn't introduce himself, did he?"

We shook our heads, and Monokuma nodded. "Hmm, that's not really friendly," he said. "A bear should always honor himself and reveal his name to others."

"I'm not a bear," the kid lashed. "Fine, I'll tell everyone."

"You mean, your name?"

"What else?" he sighed. "My name and talent, that is."

"Well, let's spit it out!" Monokuma said. "We're already behind schedule!"

"Sure," he said. "I'm…"

_**HIDEAKI NANASE**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL MULTI-TALENT_

"Did you say multi-talent?"

"Well, what kinds of talents?!" snapped Monokuma. "Come on! We ain't got all day!

"That's not something I have to say," said Hideaki, "and I won't."

I stared at Hideaki, eyes narrow. Hideaki wasn't listed in the thread I saw online. So, did he come here in secret? Or, did no one know about him? Lastly, Hideaki's last name was strange… Nanase… That was Rin's last name, wasn't it? 

"Rin," I said to her. "He has the same last name as you!"

But what I said hasn't even caught onto her. She was staring at Hideaki with wide eyes, and they were beginning to water, as she shed tears.

"Do you know him?" I asked. She nodded her head, but she didn't look like she wanted to talk about it right now. She wasn't smiling, like she was just introduced to a long lost brother. Her face was grim, and filled with sorrow. That made me even more wary about Hideaki. I didn't know anything about him, but already, it seemed like Hideaki meant trouble.

"Alright, alright!" said Monokuma. "Now that we all know each other, lemme explain your situation!"

"First of all," Senji started. "I want to know where we are."

"Well, we're at Hope's Peak Academy!" he said. "Actually, technically, we're at a subsidiary of Hope's Peak Academy."

"A subsidiary?" I asked. "So, this isn't the real deal?"

"No, the real deal would've been too tough for you guys!" Monokuma said. "Ha! No, I'm lying. It's because I couldn't get this whole thing to work!"

"What do you mean?" Hideaki asked. "Why did you take us here?" 

"Because!" Monokuma snapped. "I was getting to that! No need to be in such a hurry! I took you here for an academic coliseum! That's all!" As soon as he said that, Monokuma covered his mouth with his paws. "Oops! I was supposed to make that all dramatic! You teens seriously tire me out…"

"Academic coliseum?" Hideaki said grimly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, first off, let me tell you that you're all trapped in here for the rest of your life," Monokuma said.

"What?!" Miyu gasped. "That's not true!"

"Oh but it is, monsieur painter!" Monokuma said. "You are all trapped here for the rest of your lives! But here's the kicker, you guys! You can definitely get out somehow!"

"How?" I asked. "What do you expect us to do?"

"Simple," Monokuma said. "Just kill each other!"

As soon as Monokuma said that, we all exchanged nervous glances. No, nervous was putting it lightly. Our faces were filled with fear; this bear expects us to kill each other.

"Why would we do that?" I asked softly.

"Because you're trapped here otherwise," Monokuma said. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to be stuck here for the rest of your lives."

"Of course we don't!" said Rin. "But we don't want to kill each other either!"

"Sure, sure," said Monokuma. "You twenty aren't even the real deal."

"What do you mean?" asked Hideaki. "What do you mean by, the 'real deal?'"

"I mean, well, you'll find out soon enough," said Monokuma. "For now, you can either live a peaceful, happy life with each other here in the academy. OR, you can instead kill someone, and get out! But don't be naïve. You'd better do it in secret."

"Secret?"

"Yes! In secret!" Monokuma replied. "You don't want anyone to find out about your murder! So that's why we're going to hold a class trial! A trial of the century! To find out, who killed blankity blank!"

"A class trial?" asked Rin.

"Yup! We're all going to find out who did it!"

"But, uh, Mr. Monokuma sir?" asked Kyouko nervously. "Shouldn't you have taken our phones? I mean, like, don't all kidnappers do that?"

"Well, you see, I didn't finish my identification," said Monokuma. "I'm working on these cool things that can be used to identify you, isn't that cool? What's a good name?"

"ElectroIDs!" said Aaron. "Get my wordplay?"

"You don't have to help him…" said Tomakazu weakly.

"I like that name Aaron! You're on my cool list!" replied Monokuma. "Anyways, I probably should've taken your phones, but since you can't even call anyone other than the people here, I decided it's fine. We need a way to show you the class rules anyways, and being able to call each other can make much more complicated murders."

I looked at my pockets again to check for my phone. I couldn't find it, yet again.

"Monokuma," I said. "I don't have my phone. Do you know about it?"

"Yes I do," he said, "And in fact, you were very clumsy!" He took out my phone from behind his back, and tossed it at me. I checked it, and turned it on. It definitely was my phone. "Don't lose it again," Monokuma snapped. "I can't keep finding it for you, ya know?"

We all glared at the teddy bear, as he began to spin around in a little dance. This bear, expects us to kill each other? How could we?

"By the way you guys," started Monokuma. "You can find your rooms in the dormitory near here. You each get your own room! Isn't that cool?"

"No! It's not!" I snapped.

"And with that, enjoy your mutual high school life of killings!" he said. "If you need me, don't be afraid to call! I can help with plumbing, replace your bedsheets, or even help you come up with ways to kill!"

"What?"

"Ha! Just kidding," Monokuma laughed. "Now, enjoy the rest of your lives, you guys!" With that, Monokuma jumped behind the podium, and disappeared.

We all looked at each other with fearful faces. Despair was spreading across the room like a foul odor. We could all smell it. This wasn't a good atmosphere, I decided. I needed to say something.

"Is anyone honestly going to kill each other?" I said. "I mean, come on you guys! This bear expects us to kill each other!"

"Y-yeah…" Miyu continued. "We're not actually gonna kill each other…"

Everyone began to nod. "Well, the best thing to do now," said Kouichi, "is to find a way to get out of this place."

We all stared at each other again, but this time, our expressions were different. It just goes to show, a few words of encouragement can light up a whole room. I mean, especially when you're talking about such a ridiculous situation such as death. No one was going to kill each other! No one in the right mind would!

So we went out of this gym with a little hope. Hope that we would be able to leave this academic coliseum. We'd be able to escape from it…

Together.

_**End of Prologue**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#2

Monokuma: My name is Monokuma.

Monokuma: Bill's name is Bill.

Monokuma: Frank's name is Frank.

Monokuma: We all got names given to use by our parents.

Monokuma: But who gave me a weird ass name like Monokuma?


	5. Chapter 1: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER ONE**

_(o)history is basically just blood & war_

(n)everyday life

It's been two weeks, since our encounter with Monokuma. It seemed like whatever he was saying, he wasn't lying to us. It's been a whole two weeks, and yet, no sign of help was coming. No sign of anything. I don't know how Monokuma is able to do all this, but one thing is clear. It really did seem like we would spend our lives here.

I can't think like that, though. I have to keep hoping, that somehow, someway, help would come our way. I had a dream last night. I was with my family, it was Christmas, and we were all in the dining room, eating a turkey. It was delicious… we were all having fun. That was true life. I want to go back into that life. I don't want to stay here.

But, I sure as hell won't kill anybody! I know no one else would, either.

_*DING DONG! DING DONG!*_

"_Good morning, you guys! It is now 7:00 AM! Rise and shiiine! Let's make today the best day it can be!"_

Monokuma's voice ran through me as a painful reminder of what was awaiting us.

"_Oh, and by the way you guys, let's all meet in the gymnasium today again! I can't wait to see your faces – it's been so long!"_

And with that, Monokuma ended the announcement. He was calling us like we were his sheep, and it totally sucked. I don't want to listen to this bear… whoever is controlling him, I don't want to listen to him. But there was no choice.

There was, no more hope.

"Raise your hands, up above your head!" said Monokuma while doing yoga. "Now, clasp your hands together, and _reach_ for the stars!"

"You're right Monokuma!" said Megumi, doing the stretches. "Oh wow, this feels great!"

"Finally!" Monokuma swooned. "Someone who gets me! Everyone keeps saying, you're a bear! You can't do yoga!"

"Well, how rude of those people!" said Megumi, crossing her arms.

"Enough of this," said Hideaki. "Why did you call us here, Monokuma?"

"What do you mean? Why aren't you doing this yoga?"

"You didn't call us here to do yoga, did you?"

"Huh? You mean you're not here to do any yoga?"

"No."

"Aww, man… That stinks," started Monokuma, "but you know what? It's your loss! I love stretching and putting my mind at ease! I mean, you guys could really use some chill pills! You all look so restless!"

"C'mon you guys!" said Megumi. "Let's all stretch!"

Ignoring Megumi and her strange idiocy, I took out my phone modified by Monokuma and opened up the school rules. This seemed like a good time to read over them, while Monokuma was distracted with yoga.

List of School Rules

You may not sleep outside of your dormitories. This will count as breaking the rules and result in a punishment.

The time between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM will be known as "nighttime." During nighttime, some areas are off-limits and water will be shut off.

You may explore the school and campus on your own will. No limitations will be placed on this account.

To escape the campus, one must kill another without having their crime betrayed.

More rules may be added if deemed necessary.

I raised my hand as if I were talking to a teacher, and called for Monokuma's attention. "Um, Monokuma?"

"Hmm? What is it Ayako? Do you want to know how tall I am?"

"Uh, no, not really," I said, "but I have a question about the rules.

"Oho! That's cool, which one?"

"I have a question as well, while we're on the subject," said Senji. "Ayako, you go first." I nodded, and turned to Monokuma.

"Um, it says in the first rule, the rules will result in a punishment… What do you mean by punishment?"

"Hmm, it's not obvious?" asked Monokuma. "Death! Slice and dice! Hack and slash! I'll spear through you like I skew the middles of marshmallows!"

"Wh-what?!"

"Death?!" shrieked Miyu. "You can't be serious!"

"H-he's just lying, Miyu," said Rin. "He's kidding!"

"You wanna test me, kid?" threatened Monokuma. "I could kill you quicker than you wipe your ass of your crap you ate last night!" Rin gulped, and looked at the floor, not knowing how to respond.

"Senji, what's your question?" asked Monokuma. "Let's try to make this one more cheerful!"

"Question number four," said Senji. "When it says to not have our crime betrayed by other students…"

"I thought we already discussed this," Monokuma sighed. "You cannot let the other kids find out about your murder! Then we're going to hold a class trial!"

"What are these class trials?" asked Hideaki.

"Well, you'll find out later," said Monokuma. "It's pretty cool!"

"You still didn't answer my question," replied Hideaki. "I asked why you brought us all here together. I know it wasn't just for yoga."

"Fine!" said Monokuma. "Since you are so pushy, I'll just come right out and tell you! You guys suck!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah!" Monokuma started. "You heard me! You guys are totally boring! When are one of you going to kill someone?!"

"We aren't going to kill anyone!" I screamed.

"Well, duh, bitch!" snapped Monokuma. "It's because you all have no reason to!"

A reason? What did Monokuma mean by that?

"Are you talking about a motive?" grumbled Hideaki. "How you could have possibly provided a motive for us?"

"Hmm, to find that out, I think you'll all want to go to the movie theater at 5:00 tonight," said Monokuma. "A pretty cool movie is out! I've made popcorn and everything!" Monokuma laughed his evil laugh, and finished off saying, "see you tonight!" With that, Monokuma walked behind the curtain and disappeared.

"The movie theater at 7:00," said Kichiro, "is where we'll find our motives?"

"It looks like it," Hideaki said, replying to Kichiro's comment. "This doesn't sound like it'll be good."

"But, no matter what happens," Miyu said.

"No one would kill each other, right?" asked Rin.

In my mind, I agreed with all of them. I thought that no one would kill each other. I mean, who would? That's ridiculous. But, was I wrong again?

It was 7:00.

We were all gathered on the outside of the movie theater. The posters were all taken down and replaced with stranger ones, that read "Monokuma's Super Epic Awesome Incentive Movie."

"What kind of name is that?" smirked Saya. "This will be an abomination of a film!"

"Hey! It's not a movie," snapped Tomakazu.

Saya sighed and walked into the movie theater with ease, as if she had nothing to worry about at all. Hideaki followed, beckoning for everyone else to follow. As the students walked in and piled into the movie theater quickly, it was only I who remained.

"It's time to face reality," I said to myself, as I walked into the movie theater.

Inside the movie theater, the intercom went on, and Monokuma's voice emanated through the walls.

"_Um, you guys?"_ he started. _"We're having some technical issues right now… so please mingle in the lobby and come in at 7:20 instead!"_

Technical issues? I sighed. I had to wait even longer to find out the truth. While everyone started to grumble and sit down in the lobby, it was only Hideaki who was acted strangely.

"Something wrong, Hideaki?" I asked.

"Technical issues in a movie theater wouldn't take twenty minutes," he said. "Something is going up. It's something darker than technical issues."

I looked at him oddly. While a twenty minute interval is a rather long time frame, it isn't anything strange… The film could have ripped, or the movie screen could have been shot, or something.

"You're overthinking it," I said to Hideaki. "Just sit down."

"I don't need to sit," he said. "I don't deserve to sit."

I stared at him, and thought about what he said. He didn't deserve to sit? Hideaki didn't seem social, but it sounds like he was being a lapdog.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You don't… deserve to sit? What are you talking about?" I started to laugh a light laugh and try to get Hideaki into a better mood, but he only stared at me with open eyes, dark and mysterious.

"It's okay, Ayako," he said. "You don't need to know about me." With that, Hideaki walked into the lobby and leaned against a wall, closing his eyes. I could only think about what happened in Hideaki's life to make him like this. First, in the cafeteria, he avoided all contact. Second, during our investigation of the school, he avoids contact with everybody and even manages to draw a map. Now, he's telling me he didn't deserve to sit. It sounded like the word so of a servant to a king.

As I sat down, thinking about Hideaki, twenty minutes passed as fast as I could think about them, and we were all called into the movie theater by Monokuma. Monokuma got in front of the movie theater screen, and started a speech.

"Um, this is a really big moment for me," said Monokuma, "because I've worked so hard to work on this film! All the actors portrayed here gave their lives for you guys! We gave you an amazing movie, and I appreciate you all coming down to support us!" Monokuma began to make a crying noise, and hopped up the steps and took a seat next to me. I closed my eyes and scooted away from Monokuma, and he rested his head against his paw. "Start the movie!"

As he said that, the screen started to flicker. On and on, it was blinking like a strobe light, shining in our faces and blinding our eyes. As we stared at the blinding screen, pictures began to form across the screen, and what we saw was shocking. A child was running towards the camera; his face was bloodied and he looked to be running away from someone.

"There seems to be a problem with young Billy," Monokuma's voice said as it came up across the screen. "I wonder what it could be?"

The screen started to static, and after a few seconds, the screen became visible again, and out came a mountain of bodies that was piled in front of the real Hope's Peak Academy.

"Could it have something to do with this?" asked Monokuma. "These bodies are what's happening on the outside as this movie is playing!"

The screen turned to static yet again, and I looked around the theater in horror. You could see the horror on the faces of the others, and as they stared at the screen, I noticed Hideaki. He was reacting almost strangely normal, as if he saw all this before.

"These horrible images," Monokuma's voice played as the screen continued to static, "are a part of something horrible going on right now in the town of Hope's Peak. What if I told you it could happen to the rest of the world?"

I stared at the screen, my eyes opening wide at what Monokuma's voice just said. What if he told us it could happen to the rest of this world?

"And that's why you need to get out! To protect your families, yo! To stop this crisis! But you can only do that…"

"**AFTER GRADUATION!"**

The screen started to turn black, and the words, "Graduate to Find Out," came up in bright flashing lights. As the words faded, the curtain closed concealing the movie screen, and death started to close up on him.

Monokuma got up from his seat, and went in front of the curtains once again, and started to speak.

"OMG! LOL! Best comedy ever!" said Monokuma. "I give it five stars! Academy Award! Golden Globe!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" shrieked Rin. "A comedy?!"

"Damn straight, sister!" exclaimed Monokuma. "My, my! It really was such a hassle to put that production together!"

We all stared at Monokuma in silence, while he was spinning in a circle and eating a pot of honey. As we stared at him, we all were subjected to the fear spreading in the room. I couldn't believe what I saw on that screen. It was impossible – to think that the town we were supposed to attend school at would be destroyed like that.

"You," I started, "you expect us to believe that?"

"Hmm?" Monokuma asked. "Believe what? That Hope's Peak has ended by now?"

"She's right!" Noburu said. "What just happened right now is impossible!"

"Tch! Whatever," said Monokuma back to us. "You can think whatever the hell you want. But that was your incentive, you guys. So if you really want to know what's going to happen, you should just kill someone!" Leaving us with those ominous words, Monokuma headed towards the exit, and waved to us as he left and disappeared in thin air.

"Hideaki!" I said, calling out for him as we left the movie theater.

Our discussion before was all nearly unanimous. We all decided that whatever was happening to the outside world was stupid, and the video was forged by Monokuma. But, of course, it was Hideaki who took this threat seriously.

"Hideaki!" I said. "Wait up!" Hideaki looked back at me, and with no expression at all, he turned to face me.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

"Do you; really think Monokuma was being serious?" I asked.

"He trapped us in an abandoned boarding school," he said. "I'm not, _not_ going to take this seriously."

"I mean, that's a good point, but what just happened, that was a forgery! Monokuma did that too –"

"Save your breath," he snapped. "I'm not saying it wasn't faked or forged. It just looked too real. And what this madman did to us gives me a sinking feeling at the bottom of my stomach."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Ayako. This man was able to single handedly trap nineteen students without any trouble at all. This sinking feeling is reality. What's happening outside, is something we don't know about. But you are all brushing it off like it's nothing." Hideaki sighed and put his hands into his pockets. He walked off into the distance, and said something to me while leaving. "If you're going to ignore Monokuma's warning, you'd best be careful."

And with that, Hideaki departed.

_*Ding dong! Ding dong!*_

"_Excuse me? May I have your attention please?"_ said Monokuma over the intercom. _"The time right now is 10:00 PM. Nighttime is now in effect. The cafeteria is now off-limits, and water will be shut down. With that, I wish you good night. Sweet dreams…"_

"A movie!" exclaimed Megumi. "The perfect place to mingle and get to know each other!"

"Uh, I'm not sure I'd want to go back into the movie theater after what happened last time," said Aaron. "How about, like, a barbecue, or something?"

"To hold a barbecue, you need a grill," sighed Rikiya. "Honestly… for a scientist, you should've known that."

"I'm just a scientist," said Aaron defensively. "I'm not an A+ student, or anything…"

"Either way, a movie sounds like a fine idea," Saya said, swooning. "We could watch my new movie, 'Hearts of the Forest!'"

"What kind of name is that?" Tomakazu said, sighing. "If we all want to get to know each other, we should just hold a party."

"Well, I vote movie," Saya said. "I have an idea! Let's all have a majority vote. Who says movie, or party?"

A movie, would be nice, to still stay in touch with the modern pop culture. Plus, it wouldn't be a bad time to get to talk with each other. Then again, going to a party, wouldn't be so bad either.

"Whatever it is," Hideaki said, "you can leave me out of it."

"Tch, of course," Kichiro said. "We wouldn't want some anti-social freak." Hideaki sighed at this comment, and turned to face Kichiro. His red eyes seemed to be turning darker, like a deep blood red that only meant danger.

"Want to say that again, to the Super Highschool Level Fighter?" he asked. "I don't think you'd want to fight me." Kichiro looked at him with fright, as if he felt really threatened. For his small appearance, Hideaki was really intimidating.

"By the way," started Takako, "what are your other talents?"

"I don't need to tell you," Hideaki said, "and I'd prefer not to."

"What?!" backlashed Takako.

"Don't get me wrong, it isn't because I hate you guys," Hideaki said, "but some of those talents hold dark secrets for me. I'd rather not reveal them."

"Well, let's back away from that for now," Senji said. "We were discussing the possibility of a get together. We all haven't voted yet."

"Right! Everyone close your eyes!" commanded Saya. "If you vote for a movie, raise your hand!"

Though the movie theater held some dark memories, I thought it was important to stay up to date with what was happening in the real world, so I raised my hand for that. It seemed like some of the others thought of the same thing, since it turned out that movies won by a close vote of 10-9.

"The tenth vote was mine," said Saya dominantly.

"W-wait, that's not fair!" whined Aaron. "Then –"

"You fucking dumbass!" said Saya angrily. "Don't talk to me like that! I'm an actress you see? You're a wannabe scientist piece of trash! We needed a freaking tie breaker, so I was that tie breaker! Kapeesh?!" Aaron kneeled down on the floor, palms together, and rapidly nodded his head. We all stared at Saya with estranged eyes. She really was a huge diva.

"There we go!" said Saya cheerfully. "I'm sorry for that disturbing display everyone!"

As Saya began laughing, we heard a bunch of chuckles coming from behind her. The voice was childish, and the laugh sounded similar to…

"What's up everyone?" asked Monokuma, as he climbed on top of Saya's shoulders.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Saya screamed and through Monokuma in the air, and swatted him. "Don't touch me, you filth!"

"Ouch…" Monokuma groaned. "That really hurt… I knew I forgot a rule."

"A rule?" I asked. "What rule?"

"Well, thanks to Saya, I remembered a rule I intended on adding but forgot to later!" Monokuma exclaimed. He took out a cookie, and started talking again. "You see, in most normal schools, one wouldn't hit the headmaster."

"This isn't exactly a normal school," sighed Suguru. "Isn't that right, Roger?"

_Bark!_

"By the way," Monokuma asked. "Where did you find that dog?"

"Oh? He was already here," said Suguru. "On the first day, I was walking to the gym and I saw Roger over here."

"Oh, whatever," Monokuma said, cutting Suguru off. "The dog can stay, he isn't doing anything. By the way, wouldn't it be cute to give him a title? Yeah, let's do that! From now on, Roger is…"

_**ROGER**_

_SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL PET_

"Isn't that cute?" asked Monokuma.

"Enough," Hideaki interrupted. "Why did you come here again?"

"No threatening reason, I assure you," Monokuma said. "I overheard you guys talking about a movie, so

I was just wondering what movie you guys wanted to watch!"

"What movies may we watch?" said Setsuna. "A religious one?"

"No, no, I don't have any religious movies," said Monokuma. "Murderers like me don't really believe in religion anyways."

"Then what movies?" Miyu asked, softly.

"I have a nice little kids movie for you guys to watch!" Monokuma said. "You can either watch Shrek, or Brother Bear!" Almost immediately, everyone called out Shrek, ignoring the fact that Monokuma obviously wanted to watch Brother Bear.

"Aww… you guys are no fun," Monokuma sighed. "Well, you can come by and watch Shrek at 6:00 PM tonight… Bye then…" With that, Monokuma vanished.

"Woohoo!" Megumi exclaimed. "I love Shrek! Though I also wouldn't have minded Speed Racer."

"The nerve of that bear," growled Saya. "Not offering to show any of _my_ movies. What the hell is wrong with that bear?"

"That's your problem with this?" sighed Akira. "Oh, whatever."

I sighed too, but not because of annoyance towards Saya. It was a sigh of relief. Even if Monokuma tried to get us to kill each other, we all decided we'd watch this movie together. It was a blind pact, us saying that we wouldn't kill each other, but instead, we'd all be friends.

So I was happy.

I went into my dormitory and started to jump on my bed.

"Maybe…" I said. "Maybe life here won't be so bad." It was obvious my optimism was kicking in, because it was clear that life here would be pretty bland. "We've got movies and a huge campus to live in…" I smiled a little, and then took a glance at my watch. It was only 4:00, so there was two hours until the movie started. "Maybe I'll get some dinner," I said to myself, and I hopped out of bed and headed to the cafeteria.

When I got there, I saw Hideaki eating a cake on the cafeteria table alone. I took a glance at his face, and it was a solemn face. A very sad and grim face. And as I walked past him, I thought I heard something along the lines of a teardrop. As I got my dinner, I felt bad for Hideaki. It was clear something awful happened to him in the past, and I thought Hideaki needed someone.

"Hey, Hideaki," I said, smiling. I took a seat in front of him, as he looked up from his cake.

"Oh," he said. "Hey, Ayako." He didn't offer a smile or anything, but his voice wasn't fierce like it used to be. It was vulnerable, and weak. "What are you –"

"I'm just having some early dinner," I said. "You shouldn't eat cake before dinner though," I said sighing. "It'll totally ruin your appetite!"

"I could never stop eating sweets," he said. "It'll be like trying to stop a bird from flying." Hideaki took another bite of his cake, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, if I acted a little, brash," he said. "I'm not good with people."

"No," I responded. "Don't apologize. It's clear something happened." Hideaki nodded, and looked out the window, resting his chin against clasped hands. His hands and chin were on top of the chair, and for once, Hideaki looked finally to be at peace.

"It's just," he started, "it's easier that way for me."

"Being alone?"

Hideaki nodded.

"It was always like that for me," he said. "I think my childhood got spoiled so much, I forgot how to feel anything." Hideaki looked at the floor, and yawned. I looked at him with sympathy. I wanted to know what happened to Hideaki; not to be a gossip girl, but I genuinely thought he needed some help.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I don't mean to bore you with my personal thoughts."

I shook my head and spoke. "It's okay. I just feel a little bad for you."

Hideaki blew some loose hair out of his face, and responded. "You shouldn't. I'm okay. I'm going to be fine." Hideaki turned around, and ate the last bite of his cake. He got up, and took the plate in the kitchen, apparently ending our conversation.

I wondered for the next few minutes, what could've possibly happened to Hideaki as a child. He said it himself, that his childhood was spoiled. It was… depressing.

As he walked out of the cafeteria, he turned to me, and with a small grin, he said, "enjoy the movie." He left the cafeteria, leaving me and my dinner alone. I stared at the doorway, watching Hideaki leave, and I sighed once more, and threw the rest of my dinner away.

Maybe she'll know, I thought to myself.

6:00 came fast after that. I left the cafeteria after finishing eating, and I headed to the park and took a small walk. Tomakazu and Noburu were there, and the three of us walked together, and talked. We talked about what we missed most about the outside world, and we talked about how we were all going to get out together, us three and Rin.

After that, it was 5:45, so our trio headed to the movie theater, where we saw Rin waiting. She smiled at us and held a peace sign, and the four of us headed into the theater.

As everyone started to pile in, I scanned who was here. Like I thought, everyone was here except Hideaki. I sighed, and faced Rin.

"Rin," I started. "You said you knew Hideaki, right?" Rin gasped, and looked at me with a serious expression. She then giggled a little, and brushed it off.

"What're you talking about now?" asked Rin. "Yeah, I know him, but he's not really my favorite person in the whole world."

"What was he to you?" I asked.

"He was my stepbrother," Rin said. "Our parents remarried in the third grade, and we were siblings since then. We loved each other, we really did. But as the years went by, it seemed like Hideaki and I were drifting apart."

"What was happening to him? I talked with him today in the cafeteria, and he said his childhood was spoiled. It sounded like, some sort of crisis happened to him."

"I'm not saying I blame him," Rin said. "His mother was killed in a car crash he was in, and his father soon didn't talk to him at all, until he remarried. Then again, he was always bullied as a child, and I remember seeing him attempt suicide."

"Suicide?!"

"I didn't get it," Rin said. "He had me, and I tried to get him friends. He was so talented in lots of things; it didn't make sense for him to _be_ bullied. But he didn't talk to anyone. I think the death of his mom caused him to shut people out."

I stared at Rin with a sad face. I pictured Hideaki again. He looked like a sweet boy at first glance. He seemed like he would be outgoing, friendly, and popular. But I had no idea what happened to him in the past.

"Hey, Rin," I said, as Shrek began to play. "After we get out of here, let's make Hideaki our friend." We exchanged glances, and we both smiled.

"Yeah!" Rin said. "Let's make him our friend!"

As the movie began to play, we were all laughing at the adult innuendo hidden in a kid's movie. We were talking during the boring parts, and having a really good time. It seemed like everything was going perfectly… Everything would go perfectly. I knew it would.

As the movie finished, we exited into the lobby and talked some more. But then, I noticed something weird.

Missing from the group of people in front of me, was Akira.

"You guys?" I asked. "Where's Akira?"

"Come to think of it," Aaron started, "Akira said he would go to the bathroom. I wonder what happened to him."

As the seventeen of us in the lobby began to look around the room, we were all shocked to see Hideaki exit the men's bathroom, and look at us.

"You guys might want to see something."

Hideaki's face was a frown. I remembered his faces; he would be grim, his normal face. He would smile at times when he wanted to comfort others, like me. But this frown was a frown I didn't see before. It was a new emotion that Hideaki showed us.

I realized what Hideaki meant, by "something." I rushed out of my seat, looked into the bathroom, and to my horror…

I saw Akira sitting on the toilet in a bathroom stall.

Except, he was dead.

_**Continued in Chapter 1: Investigation.**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#3

Monokuma: Teens these days are mostly sort of stupid. I'm not insulting you particularly, I'm sure you're smart.

Monokuma: But it pisses me off when they act so stupidly! I mean, who is THAT stupid?

Monokuma: Like, for example: "I won't do drugs, mommy! People who do drugs are bad!"

Monokuma: And then, they do drugs! What the hell?!

Monokuma: Though, doing drugs isn't exactly in the same league as killing.


	6. Chapter 1: Investigation

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! It's the Monokuma recap board!

Monokuma: Remember, last time, when these bastards said they wouldn't kill anyone? I mean, who the hell thought of that? Ayako?  
Monokuma: Ironic isn't it? Cause Ayako was the one who found our first victim DEAD! Ahaha! Hilarious!

Monokuma: Then again, Akira didn't really talk much, so you guys must not really give a crap about who the victim was. I hope we can swoon you guys next murder and kill off a character you guys actually care about! 3

Monokuma: But then again, the killer this time! Woohoo! Upupupu!

Monokuma: Enjoy your dish of despair!

* * *

Death… it hit me in the jaw with the strength of a roundhouse kick. Death is such a delicate thing, but be that it may, it came so easily this time around. I couldn't believe how fast it came… I'd expect this to be a yearly thing, maybe, if it were to happen…

Did Monokuma's incentive really work on someone? Thinking back, everyone was scared at first of Monokuma's threat. But after that, we all agreed that it was a fake forgery.

Who could have killed Akira?

After my scream, everyone began to pile into the bathroom. We all didn't know what to say. It was Akira. One of our friends was sitting in the bathroom stall, dead.

"Wh-wh-WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Aaron.

"It appears like a death happened," Taisuke said calmly. "Now is a good time to do some grave robbing."

"The hell are you talking about?" said Kichiro through clenched teeth. "How can you think about robbing a dead body? The hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm a con artist," Taisuke said. "I don't exactly have feelings."

_*Ding, ding, ding, dong!*_

"_Attention, you guys! A corpse has been found! A class trial will begin shortly, so please commence your investigation!"_

"Class trial?!" screamed Takako. "What the hell?!"

"It appears like… Monokuma means business," gulped Saya.

"Yes I do, sister!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!" screamed Takako, even louder.

I stared at Monokuma, as he crept around Saya's body. "Yo!"

I ran towards Monokuma, but I was stopped by Hideaki. "It's against the rules," Hideaki said. "You can't be punished now."

Tears were streaming down my face as I stared at Monokuma. "You monster!" I screamed. "You killed Akira!"

"The fuck are you talking about?" asked Monokuma. "I didn't do shit. I just watched it happen, gave it a little nudge. I didn't do anything, it was one of you guys who were curious about the outside world, you know!"

"You always come here for a purpose," said Hideaki, with a stern intimidation in his voice. "Why did you come here this time?"

"Well, you know, in court cases, they always have an autopsy report! So this is sorta like my autopsy report for you guys, since it would be unfair otherwise!" Monokuma said. "So here you go!"

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

1: Monokuma File #1: Reads the following: Victim: Akira Yamazaki | Time of Death: 7:00 PM | Cause of Death: Slit in the side of his neck by a shard of glass, and died of blood loss. Only one slash.

"Commence your investigation now, you guys!" said Monokuma. "I mean, it's your life that we're talking about here!" As Monokuma laughed, he vanished in midair once again, leaving us stunned.

"Well, we aren't going to accomplish anything by standing around," said Rikiya, breaking the silence.

"Correct," Senji followed. "We must find out who did this, otherwise…"

"Otherwise what?" asked Miyu.

"Come to think of it, Monokuma never told us what happened when we _lose_ a class trial, did he?" Rin asked.

_*Ding dong, ding dong!*_

"_Oh my, Rin, you have a good memory!" _Monokuma said through the intercom. _"My apologies, if you fail to finger the correct villain, instead of the perpetrator who gets to go home free, everyone __**else**__ will be punished!"_

"You mean death for us?" Setsuna asked.

"_You got it mother! By the way, for a woman priest, do we call you father or do we call you mother? I would never now since I never went to church. Anyways, bye!"_

A beep signaled the end of the announcement.

As everyone started to disband for the investigation, I didn't know what I could do. I didn't feel like I could do anything. I felt weak. I was the one who thought no one would die, yet…

Hideaki began to look at the body. I didn't know what he was doing at first, and he did the strangest things, looking at the dead body like it was just some toy.

"Hideaki, what are you doing?" I gasped. "You-you're just touching that like it's a normal thing!"

"I have experience with dead bodies," said Hideaki. "They aren't exactly hard to look at. Besides, we need to investigate this thing, and fast."

"Y-yeah…" I said. "You're right."

"You can help with my investigation, if you want," Hideaki offered. "It would be nice, to not work alone on this case…" I nodded.

"You look like you know what you're doing, so I'll just help you. I probably couldn't do anything alone, anyways." Hideaki nodded, and after a few more seconds, he beckoned me to come over.

"Look at his neck," he said. Looking at it, I noticed a deep cut wound with blood surrounding it.

"That's probably the cause of death," I said.

"It's weird though," Hideaki said. "There's only blood surrounding the neck. If he died of blood loss, it should have been likely that the blood is elsewhere as well, yet it is only surrounding his neck."

"But what good would come of cleaning the body? It's not like the amount of blood loss would affect the outcome either way."

"That's true," Hideaki sighed. "Either way, this is probably important."

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

2: Wound on Neck: A large gash on the side of Akira's neck, which is most likely the cause of death. Oddly enough, there is only blood surrounding his neck.

I took a look around the room, trying to find a look at surroundings, and I noticed that the bathroom mirror was cracked, and some fragments of the mirror were on the floor.

"Hideaki, look at this," I said, calling out for him. "This is probably where the murderer got the weapon." Hideaki nodded, and wrote it down in his notepad.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

3: Cracked Mirror: The mirror is cracked, and missing a few fragments.

4: Fragments of Glass: Glass found on the floor of the bathroom. Most likely came from mirror.

"There's another weird thing about this," said Hideaki.

"You mean… there's no blood on any of these pieces."

"Yes," said Hideaki. "There most likely should've been pieces of glass with blood on them if the murderer used these fragments. Though, it's most likely that the killer took the pieces of glass to hide evidence."

"Again," I noticed, "removing a bloody piece of glass wouldn't do anything to conceal the crime. Would it?"

Hideaki shook his head. "No, if anything, the killer is trying to throw off our investigation." Hideaki placed his hand on his chin, and thought for a while before breaking the silence.

"Ayako, come with me," Hideaki said. I nodded, and followed him out the bathroom door. I will – no, we will, find out who killed Akira and restore peace to this academy! That's what I said to myself. That's what we were going to do.

* * *

_**Location: Female Bathroom | Time: 8:12 PM | Chapter One**_

"Why are we in the woman's room?" I asked. "The murder happened in the men's bathroom, didn't it?"

"I wouldn't come to that conclusion right away," Hideaki said. "Take a look at this." In his hand was a bloody piece of glass.

"Wh-what's that doing here?!" I shrieked.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

5: Bloody Glass Fragment: A bloody piece of glass. Found in the woman's restroom.

"Quickly," Hideaki said. "Look in the restroom stalls."

"Okay!"

I quickly scanned each and every stall in the restroom, but my heart really stopped when I reached the last one. I think I screamed a little, because Hideaki arrived with worry on his face, and even he had his face drained of color.

The stall was drenched in blood. Top, bottom, right and left. Everywhere was filled with blood.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

6: Bloody Stall: A stall in the woman's restroom that was drenched in blood.

"What the hell?!" I screamed. "So, so, the body was moved then?!"

"Probably," Hideaki said, returning to his old composure. "There couldn't possibly be this much blood anyways."

I looked at the stall once again. It was, impossible. This much blood? Even if Akira was murdered in the woman's room, he couldn't have spilled this much blood if his cause of death was just a slit to the neck.

"I see what you're thinking," Hideaki said, interrupting my thoughts. "I agree with you, in that case." Hideaki gently nudged me aside, and went inside the stall.

"Wait! Hideaki! Are you crazy?!"

Hideaki took a look inside the stall, and inside the toilet, he found something interesting. A war book was stuffed into the woman's toilet, and it was soggy and ruined. However, it was a war book, meaning that it probably belonged to Akira: the war genius.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

7: War Book: A book about the many wars of the world. Found in the bottom of the woman's restroom.

Hideaki looked around the stall for a few more moments, and then faced me. "I want to check out the men's room again."

"Again?" I asked. "But –"

"No time," he said. "Let's go."

Hideaki exited the woman's bathroom, leaving me to wonder what he could be talking about.

* * *

_**Location: Male's Bathroom | Time: 8:19 PM | Chapter One**_

As the two of us entered the bathroom, Hideaki immediately started scanning the stalls. As I watched him, I was disgusted to see him putting his hand in the toilet water.

"Ayako," he said. "Would you please look inside the toilets?"

"Wha?! No way!"

"Please?" he asked. "It's important."

"Ugh! Alright!"

I went to the very last stall, and stuck my hand inside the toilet. "This is so disgusting!" I said to myself. However, my eyes opened as I felt a soft object.

"Hideaki!" I called out. "I found something!"

Hideaki rushed over, and told me to show him the item I just found. When I took it out, it looked like it was a towel.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

8: Towel: Found in the bottom of one of the toilets at the male's bathroom.

"What's a towel doing down in the bottom of the toilet?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"The question is," said Hideaki. "is whether or not this towel has any relevance to the case."

While we were discussing, we noticed Saya walk into the bathroom. She didn't take any notice to us, but instead went straight to the bathroom. Megumi followed after her, and greeted us.

"Hey, you two!" Megumi said. She walked over.

"You're oddly cheerful," I said to Megumi. "I mean, someone just died, you know…"

"Yeah, sucks don't it?" sighed Megumi. "Watcha gonna do though?"

"Uh, Megumi," I asked. "You were sitting near the exit, right?"

Megumi nodded and took off her helmet. "What do you need?"

"Do you remember anyone who exited the movie during the movie? To use the bathroom or something?"

Megumi frowned, and closed her eyes. "Yup! I know each and every single one!"

Hideaki and I were both in disbelief as Megumi recited the list of people she remembered exiting the movie.

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

9: List of Suspects: The following is a list of people who exited the movie theater during the movie.

Saya

Megumi

Aaron

Senji

Rikiya

Noburu

"Good thinking," Hideaki said to me. "This narrows down our suspect list considerably."

"So, you're saying that anyone else other than these six couldn't have been the murderer?"

"Remember, everyone else was in the movie theater, and they have alibis," Hideaki said. "Meaning that it would have been impossible to kill someone in the bathroom."

"That's true," I said.

"But there's also another suspect we should add to the list," Saya said from inside the stall.

"Who?" I asked.

"Me?" Hideaki said, responding to me and Saya's comments.

"What?" I stammered. "No, it couldn't be you! I know it couldn't have!"

"I'm not saying this simpleton did do it," Saya said, as she exited the stall. "I'm just saying he's a suspect. He didn't come to the movie at all, and he was the first to discover the body."

As soon as she said that, she ominously exited the bathroom, with Megumi skipping and following her trail.

"You didn't do it, did you?" I asked Hideaki.

"No, obviously," Hideaki said. "I had a bad feeling though, so I checked the movie theater. I used the bathroom, and I found Akira dead in the stall. That's all."

I nodded, and placed my hand on my forehead. I was getting a huge headache. Hideaki noticed, and looked at me with concern.

"Do you need to lie down?" he asked. I shook my head, and offered to continue the investigation.

"The most important thing right now, I think, is to see if that towel has any relevance to this case," I said. "But how could we find out – eh?"

I found Hideaki sniffing the towel, placing it close to his face.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

As soon as I said that, Hideaki closed his eyes, and fainted.

"Hideaki!" I could only imagine him as his world turned black.

* * *

_**Location: Infirmary | Time: 8:30 PM | Chapter One**_

I took Hideaki to the infirmary as he fainted. Knowing there would be no nurse, I thought it would just be best for Hideaki to lie down. Taking all the evidence we found, I managed to get a bag to place them in, hoping that wouldn't affect them in any way.

A few minutes later, Hideaki woke up and placed his hand on his forehead.

"Ow," he said, "that hurt…"

"Are you okay?" I asked. Hideaki nodded, and thanked me for taking him to the infirmary.

"Why did you sniff that towel though?!"

"Chloroform," Hideaki said. "There was definitely chloroform on that towel."

"Chloroform?" I asked. "Don't killers use that, to like, knock out their victms?

"Exactly," he said. "That towel had chloroform on it."

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

_Ammo update:_

9: Towel: +Towel with traces of chloroform on it. Chloroform has a blue tint.

"So, the killer must have used that to knock out his victim, right?" I asked. Hideaki nodded, and went to the fridge.

"I'm thirsty," said Hideaki as he opened the fridge.

"Wait, no, that's not a fridge with drinks in it!"

As Hideaki opened the fridge, the two of us stared at the blood located in the fridge. But something wasn't right with it.

"Hideaki?" I said. "There's something strange about this."

"Other than the fact that there are packets of blood in the school?" He asked.

I nodded, and pointed at the fridge. "There were a lot more blood packets than this," I said. "Looks like maybe a quarter of what remained was taken."

Hideaki investigated a packet of blood, and spoke. "You think that this blood could have been used for the woman's stall?" he asked. I nodded.

"Probably."

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

10: Packets of Blood: Blood found in the infirmary fridge has disappeared.

"Well then, let's go back to the woman's room," Hideaki said. "We might find traces of these packets there." I nodded, and followed him out the door.

* * *

_**Location: Woman's Bathroom | Time: 8:43 PM | Chapter One**_

We investigated the woman's room carefully, and we eventually found the answer we were looking for. Near the trash can, we found the plastic cases that held the blood in it.

"So, you were right," Hideaki said. "This is going to be important."

"I hope so," I said. "It feels good to contribute."

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

11: Plastic Casings: These casings were found in the woman's bathroom trash can. Contained blood, but now empty.

"Before we end our investigation," Hideaki said, "I'm going to check something out."

I nodded, and followed Hideaki into the back of the movie theater.

"What are we doing here?" I said. Hideaki opened the door to a shed out back, and he found a bottle of chloroform that had spilled onto the floor.

"Chloroform," he said. "Definitely used here."

**:::===/****NEW AMMO****))**

12: Chloroform Bottle: A bottle of chloroform has spilled onto the floor. Chloroform has green tint.

"We're done here, now," Hideaki said. "I think we've investigated enough. We should get some rest before the trial." I nodded, and followed Hideaki to the dormitories.

"Hey, Hideaki," I said. Hideaki looked at me, with his usual grim expression. "When we get out of here, we're going to stay friends, alright?"

Hideaki looked at me some more, and then gave a small grin. "If you say so, it's not like I can stop you." We said goodbye to each other at Hideaki's dorm, and I went into my dorm, and lay down on my bed. I was tired. I was real tired. It was a tiring day, I mean. This investigation, all this bodies…

I just had to take a nap.

In my dream, I imagined all my friends attending the school right now, except we were at the normal Hope's Peak. We were at the real deal, and instead of a crazy madman like Monokuma being our headmaster, it was instead a wonderful, warm man. It was a wonderful dream. A dream filled with happiness. But it got cut short, when I was abruptly awoken.

I woke up to the sight of Monokuma angrily jumping on my chest.

"What! The! Heck!" I said within breaths of Monokuma jumping on me. "Can! You! Get! Off?!" I said angrily, and was careful to escape Monokuma's wrath without hurting him.

"You're late!" said Monokuma. "It's 10:00 and the class trial is about to start! How could you take a nap?!"

"S-sorry," I said, and I rushed out the dormitory. "Head to the park gazebo!" Monokuma called out, and I did as told.

I arrived at the gazebo, and saw everyone inside it, apparently waiting for me.

"Where have you been, you lazy peasant?" asked Saya.

"H-hey! It wasn't my fault!

"Then who's fault was it?" asked Saya. "Or, were you kidnapped by this madman?" she said, pointing at Monokuma. "If not, then it was deliberately your fault! Dumbass!"

"Now, now!" Monokuma said, as he was arriving, "Let's not start a cat fight girls!"

"What are we doing on the gazebo?" Aaron asked.

"Well, we're going to the class trial!" Monokuma explained. "This gazebo is actually also an elevator! Below this gazebo are our courtrooms!

"What?!"

"Yup! Let's go!"

Monokuma pulled a lever, and we all were taken down into the depths of the ground. It was time to face the killer. We needed to find the true perpetrator; otherwise, we would be killed instead.

Roger began barking as he was held in Suguru's arms. "Shh! Shh!" Suguru said to Roger.

We were falling and falling, deeper and deeper into the Earth, and eventually, we reached the courtrooms.

"Extraordinary, isn't it?" said Monokuma. "Here is where your class trial will be!" Monokuma began to laugh, and as we entered the courtroom, and even though Monokuma's laugh seemed to be piercing me, I realized I was brimming with confidence. It's sort of weird to say that, but if someone truly did murder Akira, I wanted to find out whom. I wanted to confront them. I knew I could do it. I know I can do it. It was time to start.

The class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter One: Class Trial**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#4

Monokuma: I've never gotten the point of why babies can't ever be portrayed as getting injured.

Monokuma: You know, in a good physical comedy, I can't believe why we never see babies getting any action!

Monokuma: Babies are people too, Hollywood! This discrimination is not fair!

Monokuma: I should make a movie: "Babies Falling Down: London Bridge." I'd watch it!


	7. Chapter 1: Class Trial

_Note by the Author: For a large part of the Class Trial, the chapter will also be written in something similar to a script form. This will be the case for all the other class trials. That said, enjoy the show. I promise that the Chapter 2 trial will be better, since this trial has a few "pull out of ass" tricks, with the addition of this trial being rather short... Hope you guys like it anyways  
_

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! This is the Monokuma recap board!

Monokuma: Who let the dogs out? Only Ayako and Hideaki were able to find any REAL clues.

Monokuma: That's because in a good story, all the supporting characters are basically useless.

Monokuma: Let's start: THE CLASS TRIAL!

==_The death of Akira Yamazaki!==Are the six suspects really the killers?==Who could the killer have been?_

Monokuma: Anyways, you guys, welcome to your first class trial! Here's how this works!

Monokuma: Finger the **TRUE** villain, and the villain will be **PUNISHED**, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the **WRONG** villain, and instead, **YOU GUYS** will be **PUNISHED**¸ leaving your deceiver to leave, **FREE & CLEAR!**

Monokuma: Now, since this is your first class trial, I will be here to provide a small amount of guidance!

Monokuma: Don't think I'll be some sort of tutorial for you guys though!

Monokuma: Now, do you all know what you are going to talk about first?

Rikiya: First, let's talk about the subject of how the victim was killed.

Monokuma: Oh! Good choice! As if that wasn't completely obvious!

Rikiya: Well, it doesn't hurt to clear things up.

Monokuma: Hmph. Whatever. I just don't like being bored.

Monokuma: Then **let's start the debate!**

* * *

**/=/=/****phase one****\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

_Author's Note: During a nonstop debate, there will be terms that can be contradicted. These are marked in __**bold**__ text. For terms that are __the __actually contradiction, these terms will be __**bolded and underlined.**__ Now, let's hope you can figure out how Akira Yamazaki was murdered…_

Rikiya: On the subject of how Akira Yamazaki was murdered…

Rikiya: Who **has any idea of how he was killed?**

Hideaki: Only an idiot wouldn't know that, you should've read the Monokuma File.

Megumi: Hmm, honey, even _I_ knew that, and that's sorta sad…

Kyouko: You're acknowledging your own stupidity?

Megumi: You got it honey!

Senji: It's best if we do not stray off-topic…

Senji: Anyways, if someone would be so kind…

Senji: As to explain to **Rikiya how Akira was killed?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

_(piece of ammo used: Monokuma File #1)_

Ayako: Rikiya, if you would please take a look at the Monokuma File #1…

Ayako: It clearly states that Akira was murdered by blood loss, as a result of having his neck slashed.

Rikiya: That's right… I couldn't bear look at that filth however.

Senji: So now, let's get into the facts.

Senji: In the case of: "who murdered Akira Yamazaki…"

Senji: As far as I know, we do not have any leads.

Rin: Well, actually, Megumi and I were talking in the hallway…

Rin: And she showed me some of the evidence she collected.

Setsuna: Ho? Is it possible that our country racecar driving ditz was able to gather up some evidence?

Megumi: You know it! See, I was able to remember who went up and left during the movie!

Miyu: A-and who did?...

Megumi: Let's see… it was Saya, Aaron, Rikiya, Noburu, Senji, and then Megumi…

Setsuna: That means you are a suspect too?

Megumi: Oh right!

Saya: Do not forget about Hideaki as being a suspect, as he did not have any alibis during the time of the murder.

Saya: Not only that, but he was the first to find the body.

Megumi: Y-yeah! Right!  
Rikiya: Very well, so it's time to discuss who among us are the real culprits.

Ayako: _I know that Hideaki didn't do it… But then again, deep down, I don't think anyone did._

Ayako: _So… what can I expect?_

* * *

**/=/=/****phase two****\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Rikiya: Who is the real murderer in this case? That's the big question.

Tomakazu: The suspect list was already narrowed down to seven…

Tomakazu: **…but does that really mean that those seven did it?**

Hideaki: Indefinitely. There was a large amount of work put to this case. Not something one could do while sneaking out.

Tomakazu: L-like?

Hideaki: First off, **one of the bathroom stalls in the female bathrooms was covered in blood.**

Hideaki: Second, **traces of chloroform was used, found behind the movie theater.**

Hideaki: Third,** there were numerous pieces of red herrings used to throw off our investigation.**

Hideaki: And lastly, **the situation about the cracked mirror.**

Tomakazu: So… what does that tells us?

Hideaki: That the murderer must have had lots of time to prepare.

Setsuna: Prepare? For what?

Hideaki: The murder, obviously.

Setsuna: No, no, the **murder was obviously impulsibe!**

Hideaki: And why is that?

Setsuna: The blood obviously **came from the victim,** did it not?

* * *

**BREAK!**

_(piece of ammo used: Packets of Blood)_

Ayako: No, hold on Setsuna.  
Ayako: There were bags found in the woman's bathroom. They were containers for blood found at the infirmary.

Setsuna: So?  
Ayako: So, the killer must have needed to go back to the infirmary and collect the packets of blood.

Setsuna: No Ayako, that would not be the case.

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: W-why not?

Setsuna: He could have easily prepared the bags of blood beforehand.

Setsuna: It's not impossible

Ayako: So…

Rikiya: It appears we're at a stalemate.

Noburu: Ahh! What are we going to do?!  
Aaron: Sh-should we take a blind jump and guess?

Hideaki: No, hold on, we can still find out who the murderer is.

Aaron: Really? How?

Hideaki: First, let's try talking about something that is connected to the case…

Hideaki: If we're lucky, it should lead us to the killer.

Ayako: _But… what can we talk about?_

Ayako: _Aren't we all out of ideas?_

* * *

**/=/=/****phase three****\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Rin: B-but what could we talk about that would be related to this case?

Miyu: Sh-should we talk about the scene of the crime?

Hideaki: No, that was definitely in the men's room.

Rikiya: The men's room? Isn't **in the woman's?**

**BREAK!**

_(piece of ammo used: Packets of Blood)_

Ayako: I'm guessing you are referring to the blood in the stall, correct, Rikiya?  
Rikiya: Yes.

Ayako: Well, did you forget about the packets of blood found in the trash can?

Rikiya: Oh! Right…

Miyu: But, but then, we really, are all out of ideas!  
Aaron: This can't be the end for us!

Hideaki: No, we strayed off-topic in our last debate.

Aaron: What?! What else could we possibly discuss?!  
Hideaki: Please, pay attention this time then…

* * *

**/=/=/****phase four****\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: Continuing from where I left off last time…

Hideaki: We can definitely trace the murderer.

Miyu: H-how? We're all out of ideas!

Hideaki: This towel, has traces of chloroform on it.

Aaron: So? What of it?  
Hideaki: However, this chloroform was NOT the chloroform I found at the scene of the crime.

Aaron: Heh?! How could you tell?!

Aaron: It, it most **definitely is the same chloroform!**

* * *

**BREAK!**

_(pieces of ammo used: Towel)_

Ayako: No, you're wrong Aaron.

Ayako: Hideaki's right, these contents of chloroform are different.

Aaron: Heh?!

Ayako: If you take a close look at the color of the towel, you can tell that the chloroform used on the towel has a different shade.

Ayako: It's blue.

Senji: But then, how would you explain the differences between the chloroform?

Hideaki: It's simple. It's not impossible to do the following.

Aaron: T-the following?  
Hideaki: It fact, it's completely possible… **to make your own chloroform.**

Aaron: Eh?

Saya: Tch, I wouldn't think anyone here would be smart enough to do it.

Hideaki: I know I couldn't… but for the Super High School Level Scientist…

Aaron: Eh? Eh?  
Hideaki: It's not impossible.

Aaron: Eh? Eh? Eh?

Saya: Oh yes, I forgot about that wimpy scientist over there.

Aaron: W-wimpy?

Aaron: Uh… huh… HUH?!

Miyu: S-so… you think Aaron made the chloroform on his own?

Aaron: W-wait! I wouldn't even have the things to make chloroform with!

Noburu: But when I looked in the science lab, there were signs of activity inside.

Hideaki: In short, it's possible he made his chloroform there?

Tomakazu: Aaron! What do you have to say about all of this?!

Aaron: W-what?

Saya: Does it look like Aaron is our killer?  
Aaron: I… I…

Hideaki: Such a simple difference can mean a complete difference.

Aaron: H-hmm… Hmmm…

Aaron: HA!

Aaron: HA! HA! HA, HA, HA!  
Aaron: YOU **SONS OF BITCHES!** YOU THINK YOU'RE SO FUCKING TOUGH BECAUSE YOU CAN FINGER MEEEE AS THE VILLAIN?!

Saya: Overreacting is not helping you. A reaction like this only proves that you're the killer more.

Aaron: TO HELL IT DOES! FUCK THAT! I'M NOT THE KILLER!

Ayako: Aaron… you have to admit it.

Aaron: ADMIT WHAT DUMBASS? I-A-M-N-O-T-T-H-E-K-I-L-L-E-R! I FUCKING SPELLED IT OUT FOR YOU! HOW'S THAT?!

Ayako: _He's resisting so much…_

Ayako: _But we have him right where we want him!_

* * *

**/=/=/****phase five****\=\=\**

Aaron: BULLSHIT!** I'M NOT THE KILLER!**

Saya: I believe the chloroform was evidence enough…

Saya: …**to say you in fact, ARE** the killer.

Aaron: **HA! AS IF!**

Aaron: OKAY YOU IDIOTS!

Aaron: FINE! YOU WANT TO CONVICT ME? **THEN SHOW ME PROOF! FUCKING SHOW IT TO ME!**

**BREAK!**

_(piece of ammo used: Bloody Glass Fragment)_

Ayako: Aaron, you used these fragments of glass, didn't you?  
Aaron: HELL TO THE NO!

Ayako: Then show us your hands.

Aaron: H-HUH?  
Ayako: While the Monokuma File says there was only one slash…

Ayako: There were two pieces of glass we found at the scene.

Ayako: Both were considerably bloody, but I can't imagine why the killer would slash someone once with two pieces of glass.

Rikiya: So you are saying Aaron got cut, which is why he used a different piece of glass?  
Aaron: H-huh?  
Rikiya: Ridiculous.

Ayako: Why is that?  
Rikiya: No one in the right mind would possibly even _use_ two pieces of glass, just cause they were cut.

Aaron: Y-yeah! N-no one would!

Saya: What happened to your worrisome attitude moments before?

Aaron: N-no! I don't believe it! You guys are just… fingering the wrong person!

Hideaki: It's completely possible that you dropped the piece of glass, and then picked up the next one closest to you.

Aaron: No! No, I didn't!

Ayako: In that case…

Ayako: I'm going to spell out your crime for you.

Ayako: What you did, every step, right here, right now.

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling Into Place**_

Ayako: First, we know that Akira walked into the men's bathroom… Needing to use the bathroom himself, Aaron walked into the men's bathroom after him. He knocked Akira into the bathroom mirror, causing shards to fall onto the floor. Then, Aaron thought to himself, "I could kill him right now, and leave this place!" Of course, he was already planning to kill him today. Attempting to use one shard of glass, he accidentally cut himself, and we can assume he dropped it, since no one would use two pieces of glass for no reason. After killing Akira, he cleaned up the bathroom, and placed red herrings he brought with him in the woman's bathroom to change the scene of the crime. But he made a mistake when making his own chloroform. The chloroform in the shed that he spilled on purpose was a different shade than the one he used against Akira, but the only way he could have gotten more, was by making his own!

Ayako: The murderer is you, isn't it Aaron?!

* * *

With that, the first class trial was over. It was easier than I thought to point out the villain, but for the villain to be Aaron… it was hard to believe.

"You dumbass," said Rikiya tauntingly. "Why'd you even use two pieces of glass?"

"Ayako, was right," Aaron moaned. "I, didn't have time. I just used the closest glass near me."

I looked at Aaron, and his face was swollen with despair. The weird thing was, I felt no sympathy. I mean, he killed one of our friends. How could he do that? He killed Akira, and I can't forgive him for that.

"Well! Looks like you guys have come to the end of your discussion!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Will you guys be right, or will you guys be so, so wrong! Let's find out!"

Monokuma took out a portable slot machine, and placed it on a table in front of him. He pulled the lever, and in three rows were the faces of all of us. As the slot machine began to halt, three faces were matched: Aaron's.

"Well! Looks like you were right, you guys!" Monokuma said. "Good job!"

Aaron growled, and sank his face into his palms.

"Why?" I asked to him. "Why did you kill Akira?"

Aaron looked at me, with glaring eyes. They were tearing up, yet I still couldn't feel an ounce of sympathy.

"My… My family," he said. "It's a cliché reason. But… I can't leave them alone! I have to get back to them! I have to see them! If what Monokuma showed us was true… I have to see my family!" Aaron began to cry, and he lowered himself to the floor, and balled up.

"Now, now, don't cry Aaron!" Monokuma said. "Let's just get your punishment started! You're excited for it, aren't you?"

"Wh-what? My punishment?!"

"You mean, you intend to execute him?" Hideaki asked. Monokuma nodded, and gave Hideaki a thumbs up.

"Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious!" Monokuma said. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"

Aaron was screaming now, pleading Monokuma to spare his life, but to no avail.

"It's time!"

"No!"

"For –"

"No, no, no!"

"Your super-duper PUNISHMENT!"

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

Monokuma pulled out his gavel, and brought out a red switch. As he slammed the gavel onto the switch, we saw an 8-bit Monokuma pronounce Aaron guilty, and drag him away for his impending doom.

Aaron was tied up on a chair with rope. Monokuma arrived with a crane, bringing a large beaker with him. Monokuma picked Aaron up with the crane, and carried him over to the beaker, very carefully, and then dropped him inside. While the chair broke, and Aaron was free from those restraints, he was still trapped in the beaker. The name of this execution…

**LAB RAT!**

Monokuma loaded a strange chemical bottle into the crane. It dropped on Aaron's head, causing his head to bleed. The chemicals spilled out into the beaker, forming a solution. Monokuma dropped another chemical in. Aaron missed the bottle, but more liquids began to spill out, until during the final chemical, Monokuma dropped the chemical. A chain reaction was set up, and the beaker exploded. When the smoke cleared, Aaron's body was nowhere in sight.

As his blood was splattered against the sides of the beaker, I could hear the screams of my friends ring through the beaker. We were all frightened by Monokuma. We knew he wasn't joking anymore. He was the real deal. But, it was weird. Even though I thought I hated Aaron, for killing our friend that was before… That was before I saw the death of him. He was still a friend, even before the death of Akira. It was strange to see this. Was this sympathy I was feeling? Or was it fear? I couldn't tell, because I was screaming with everyone else. I don't know whether it was the death of Aaron itself, or having someone die in front of me.

Yet, even through all this, Hideaki kept his cool. I saw the color flush from his face, but he was able to keep his composure.

"I… I can't do this!" Miyu screamed.

"What the hell just happened?!" said Kichiro.

"Monokuma," he said, "this isn't normal."

"Executions aren't exactly normal!" I screamed at him. "How can you be so calm?"

"No," he said, through clenched teeth. "That's not what I mean –"

"You're so weird!" Tomakazu screamed. "Can't you feel anything?!"

Ignoring our remarks towards him, he seemed to throw away all his sensitivity out the window. Instead, he spoke to Monokuma again.

"That beaker, those chemicals," Hideaki started, "how do you have that much time and money to make all of it?"

"Huh?" Monokuma asked. "Well, let me say one thing! We have external sources where we get our fundings! But, you'll figure out everything sooner or later! When despair comes up right behind you!"

"This courtroom as well," said Hideaki, calmly as before. "It's underground, it's built to perfection, yet I can't believe that you single handedly built the whole thing."

"Like I said, you impatient Nancy, you'll find out eventually!" Monokuma snapped. "But I hope you don't get too caught up in the suspense! Monokuma laughed his insane laugh after that, and soon after, Monokuma disappeared, leaving all of us in his dust.

_**Continued in Chapter 2: (n)everyday life**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#5

Monokuma: So, I was walking home from school one day.

Monokuma: And then this big bully began to pick on me!  
Monokuma: So I cried to my mommy to save me, but instead, she told me to defend myself!

Monokuma: So I killed the bully!  
Monokuma: I know, I know, it's sort of cruel what I did. But he totally deserved it!


	8. Chapter 2: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER TWO**

_I Can Snipe a Strike from the Distance_

_(n)everyday life_

Leaving the class trial, I remembered all the things we said to Hideaki. Of course, he didn't show any emotion, but no one could have withstood all those insults without being slightly annoyed. Yet, after the trial, we all realized that Hideaki was the one who got us out of pinches when we were in trouble. It was sort of weird realizing all the mistakes we made, because it only made things even more awkward with our next encounter with him. Yet, that next encounter had to come fairly soon.

It was already 11:42 PM when the trial ended, so there was no nighttime announcement. Instead, Monokuma met up with all of us at the dormitories, and wished us good night. The air was brisk and cold and even Monokuma was wearing a sweater. Either way, Monokuma kept us out there for a good fifteen minutes, roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories that we all heard before. Instead of Hideaki interrupting Monokuma's little session like normal, it was I who decided to speak up this time. I was tired, and I didn't want to stand for anymore of Monokuma's shit.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Monokuma, with clear frustration ringing through my voice. Monokuma stared at me as he was eating his marshmallow, and as he took the stick out of his mouth, he shrugged.

"We're just having a campfire," he explained. "Nothing ominous about it." Monokuma got up out of his seat, and stretched. "Man! It sure is late! You guys can sleep in tomorrow, since there's really nothing important to do anyways!"

As we all prepared to get up, Monokuma stopped us for one second, and told us something that was sure to get our attention. "When you guys wake up tomorrow, you'll notice something different about the area around the movie theater!" Monokuma got up, did a little spin, and ran towards the admissions building. As we all stood outside, wondering about what Monokuma was talking about, Hideaki quickly stepped into the building and rushed for his room.

We all followed after him to get to our rooms. It was a tough day. Sleep would be the only saving grace for me right now. I couldn't stand seeing anyone die anymore. But what was strange, was that I couldn't imagine it neither. I guess _you_ might not call it strange, but for me, I remembered how I thought that everyone was friends. How no one would die. But now, Akira and Aaron are both dead. I shuddered at the thought as I hid under my covers, wondering, would I be wrong again?

I prayed to myself I wouldn't be, and we would all be safe, and that we'd find a way out and return to our lives beyond that giant metal fence. Collecting my thoughts, I thought it was strange to think that we were gone for about a month now, and no one dared come to rescue us. Is something really happening on the outside? Was Monokuma telling the truth?

"No," I said to myself. "I can't think like that." As I stuffed my face into my pillow, I began to cry. Icy tears melted into the fabric of the pillow, and thoughts ran through my head faster than a bullet train. There were so many things to think about – it was too confusing. I didn't know what to do. Yet, even through all this, my mind was able to shut off, and I was able to drift into a restless sleep.

I've had a special talent, aside from my piano playing, that I was always able to remember my dream the night before. Once, I had an awesome dream about going to this strange cruise, and eating plates of delicious food, and another time I had a nightmare about a monster chasing me down an inky hallway, and I fell into the bottom of space. Yet, even though I swore I could remember sleeping, I don't think I dreamed this time. Or maybe I did, but in this "dream," I was suspended in nowhere. All around me was a dark black that consumed me and plunged me into the middle of despair.

Despair… was that the only thing I could think about lately? Despair, hope, a two-sided coin. It was impossible to choose one.

Even so, I woke up the next morning. I rubbed my palms against my face, and made a quick glance at my watch. It was already nine o' clock. Monokuma wasn't lying when he said that he'd let us sleep in. I think I actually woke up earlier than everyone else, because as I left my room, I could still hear soft breaths and loud snores as I exited the dormitory. Wearing a scarf, sweater, and a winter hat, I made way to the movie theater, remembering Monokuma's message.

"_When you guys wake up tomorrow, you'll notice something different about the area around the movie theater!"_ That's what Monokuma said to us. That's where I'd go after eating some breakfast. Luckily, since the cafeteria was on the way, I'd get a sandwich to go and investigate the movie theater quickly. Even through all our peril, I still felt the need to make a difference or help out, instead of doing nothing. Though there's not much that a Super Highschool Level Piano Player can do, I'd still do all I could.

As I entered the cafeteria, I saw Hideaki standing in front of the window, with a bowl of ice cream in his right hand. As he was slowly taking bites out of his ice cream, he saw my reflection through the window. I could tell that he noticed me, because he took a quick glance, but aside from that, he didn't make any contact whatsoever. He didn't greet me; he didn't berate me for giving him a tough time at the end of the trial. Instead, he just ignored me. I assumed he'd ignore everyone else – that was just his character. So, it was safe to assume this was just a phase. Even though I felt bad about what I said to Hideaki, it was just in the heat of the moment.

I took a breakfast sandwich from the fridge, and popped it into the microwave, and Hideaki entered with his empty bowl of ice cream. The atmosphere was incredibly uncomfortable. It wasn't hostile like I thought it would be, rather than it was filled with a mix of awkward and depression. As the sandwich cooked in the microwave, I turned to Hideaki, and attempted to make some form of conversation.

"I'm sorry about what I said last night," I said to Hideaki. "I know you were just keeping your composure. It's just, seeing someone die, so gruesomely in front of you…"

Hideaki nodded. "I understand, I'm not ignoring you because of the trial."

"Huh? Then why are you—"

"I'm not ignoring you for any particular reason," Hideaki said. "I guess that's just my character. I just want to think for myself a little. Though, I appreciate your apology." I nodded, and got my sandwich out of the microwave.

"You woke up early," I said, unwrapping the sandwich from its wrapper.

"I always wake up at 6:00. Before Monokuma makes the announcement, I wake up." I took a bite out of my sandwich, and nodded. Hideaki put the bowl away, and got a piece of cake from the fridge. After the piece of cake, he got a few pastries and ate them faster than I ate my sandwich in those fifteen minutes of him eating all those sweets.

"That's a lot of sweets," I said in awe, as Hideaki gulped down all his snacks in one bite.

"I eat junk food," he said. "I try to avoid vegetables."

"What?!"

He yawned and rubbed is right eye. "I'm heading to the movie theater," he said to me. "I'm going to check out what Monokuma said last night."

"That's where I was going too. I didn't think you were awake though."

Hideaki shrugged, and put on his scarf and headed out. "Come on," he said to me. "Unless you aren't coming."

I shook my head, and followed after him. I hoped that whatever awaited us at the movie theater was slightly good news. I hoped it wasn't anything bad, like another piece of incentive, or yet, even another murder. But, if there was another murder, Monokuma wouldn't have covered it up.

Arriving at the movie theater, I saw that we weren't the only ones awake. Kouichi was there, climbing trees and getting a look at something. I called out for Koichi, and startling him, he fell out of the three and landed on his back.

"Ow!" he said, startled. "Damn, that fucking hurt…" He rubbed his neck and looked behind him. His eyes flared up instantly and he ran over to me and started shaking his arms. "Yo! Ayako! That freaking hurt!"

"S-sorry…"

Kouichi sighed and notice Hideaki next to me. "Yo!" he said to him. Hideaki nodded, returning his greeting, yet Kouichi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's with him?" he asked me.

"It's his natural character," I said, shrugging.

"Did you find out anything different?" Hideaki asked Kouichi. Kouichi nodded, and did a handstand. Raising his left arm and supporting himself with only his right, he pointed at the fence that used to be blocking the movie theater area from further down the campus.

"Down that hill," he said, "are a bunch of new buildings. The fence opened, so I'm not sure whether or not we're allowed there."

As he said that, Monokuma appeared, and pushed Kouichi, forcing him to lose balance. As Kouichi landed on his back again, he groaned in pain and released his inner fury, swearing at Monokuma and threatening to kick him.

"Oh? But that would be a violation of the rules!" Monokuma said. "You wouldn't want to be **punished,** now would you?" Kouichi instantly got silent, and started to laugh a nervous laugh.

"No! No!" Kouichi said, while laughing. "Y-you're right! I'm sorry, uh, headmaster!"

"Now that's more like it!" Monokuma said. "By the way, congratulations! You three are the first awake! I now present you with the early bird award!" Monokuma pinned a couple of badges on our shirts, and I instantly took mine off and threw it up a tree.

"The hell?!" Monokuma said. "I worked hard on those badges!"

"I don't want your stinking badges," I said to Monokuma. "What happened to the fence over there?" I asked, pointing at the hill.

"Oh, that! Well, you see, you all survived a full class trial, and since you teenagers got your hormones and your need to grow, I opened up a brand new area for you to explore and enjoy! So you three have the honor of checking it out first!"

Monokuma offered Kouichi a pot of honey, but Kouichi only shook his head and headed for the hill. "Well, I'm off to explore then!" he said to us, and sped down the hill. Hideaki and I followed after him, and Monokuma only waved at us as we departed.

Walking down the hill, the three of us made a few discoveries. I suppose this exploration could have been considered a positive thing, but there were a few more buildings that were opened up to us. First, probably the best thing that was available to us was a bowling alley. It was weird to see a bowling alley at a boarding school, but I wasn't complaining. Second, there was a candy shop that opened up. A note on the front door by Monokuma read, "re-stocked every day, so enjoy! 3" I think that news appealed best to Hideaki, because soon after, Hideaki spent a full twenty minutes in the candy shop eating candy. As he finished up, we realized that there was a path leading to a beach, which was fully accessible to us. Finally, after everything in this area was closed off, we found the corner shop that was originally locked to us at first was now open.

Walking back, I saw Hideaki had stuffed his pockets with a bunch of candy from the candy shop. Kouichi and I were at a loss for words on how much candy Hideaki could eat in the window of an hour, but we didn't say anything. Walking back, we saw Rin and Miyu heading towards us.

"Hey!" I said, calling out for the two of them. "You're awake."

"We were going to check out what Monokuma was saying before," Rin said.

"D-did you guys see it?" asked Miyu. I nodded, and explained to them what we saw. Rin seemed to be pretty excited about the bowling alley and the beach. Miyu face lighted up at the sound of a beach, yet her face sank at the mention of a bowling alley. "We're not going to bowl, are we?" Miyu asked nervously.

"Huh?! You don't like to bowl?" Rin asked. "Jeez!"

"I-I'm not a good bowler…"

Quickly, and quickly, as the five of us were talking, everyone began to slowly wake up, and pile outside. To each one, I had to explain about what went down, with the bowling and the beach. Each and every one decided that we would have another good opportunity to bond.

"So!" started Kouichi, "I think that we should all go bowling tomorrow! We need a new bonding time to strengthen our bonds!"

"B-but… someone was killed last time because of that!" Takako said.

"No," Hideaki said. "It's a good idea. Aaron prepared to kill beforehand. Remember the red herrings?"

"Oh, right…"

"But teachers are always afraid to expand their boundaries," Setsuna said. "There lesson plans are so boring and dreary. Every year I dread going to school, rather than the home of God."

"S-shut up you!"

"Oh? Teachers can say shut up?"

"I'm not a teacher!" said Takako defensively. "I'm a tutor!"

"Hey, hey!" I said, interrupting their fight. "Can't you guys stop fighting for one second?"

"You stay out of this!" they both said simultaneously. I backed out of the way, and conversed with the others, discussing the trip to the bowling alley tomorrow. It seemed like a good idea. Now that Aaron was out of the way, there wasn't anyone left with murderous intentions. But just in case, we needed to solidify our relationships, and be better friends with each other.

"So tomorrow, right after dinner," I said to the others. "Sounds good?"

Everyone nodded, and as we were smiling, Setsuna and Takako walked over, with linked arms. We were all dumbfounded by how quickly the two were able to make alliances with each other.

"Good news guys!" Takako said.

"Yes, we have made peace and are now good friends," Setsuna said. "Now, what's this about bowling?"

"Um, we're going bowling tomorrow after dinner," Suguru said. "Roger is a great bowler, he told me himself!" 

_Bark!_

"Roger can't bowl," Takako said.

"You think just because he's a dog, he can't bowl?" Suguru said with a threatening voice. "We'll show you! We'll show you! Right, Roger?!"

_Bark!_ Roger walked over to Suguru and rubbed up against her leg. Suguru's parrot began to squawk and managed to irritate the rest of us.

"That gives me an idea," Kouichi said through the parrot's noise. "Why not have a team tournament?"

"A tournament?" I asked. "So we'll be on teams?"

"I will divide the teams," Senji offered. "I think I'm analytical enough." I nodded, and Senji began to divide us up into a list. The final product was as followed:

Team A:

Ayako

Senji

Megumi

Hideaki

Saya

Takako

Suguru (and Roger)

Noburu

Team B:

Tomakazu

Kichiro

Miyu

Kouichi

Rikiya

Taisuke

Setsuna

Rin

Kyouko

"Cool," I said. "I love bowling, we'll kick your asses!"

"Huh? Is that so?" challenged Rin.

"I'm a fucking contract killer dude!" threatened Kouichi. Takako shuddered at the fact of Kouichi being a contract killer, but this is the exact thing I was talking about. We were socializing, and having a good time again. It was like in the movie theater, before everything bad happened. We were all together. It was like we were restarting… and we were having fun again.

But as soon as I thought we were getting comfortable as friends, Monokuma's voice ran through the intercom again.

_*Ding dong, ding dong!*_

"_You guys! Stop! Help! The graduation plaza! Quickly! Ahh!"_

The announcement abruptly stopped, and we were all left to the graduation plaza in a hurry. We didn't have any time to think. Either this would be good news, the way Monokuma sounded, or this would be very, very bad news. The worst news we've ever heard about on our whole experience at Hope's Peak Boarding School.

We arrived at the graduation plaza as quick as we could. As we ran to the center of the school, the cold winter wind bit at our faces, but the sheer cold couldn't stop us. Whatever Monokuma was going to tell us, could change our lives here at the academy.

We arrived at the graduation plaza, and we almost tripped at the sight of Monokuma playing solitaire on the ground. At this point, it seemed like we were all here for nothing, and Monokuma played us again.

"You guys are here!" Monokuma said. "I'm missing a card for solitaire, does anyone have one?"

Taisuke walked over to Monokuma, and held up an "ace" card.

"Is this it?" Taisuke asked, with a mysterious voice.

"What the hell?!" Monokuma complained. "How'd you get that?"

"I'll give you this ace card for something," Taisuke said. "I think you know what I want." Monokuma looked at Taisuke with a glare. Though it was impossible for his eyelids to move, the atmosphere presented to us was clear. There was a tension we couldn't explain between Taisuke and Monokuma, and Monokuma finally said to Taisuke: 

"We'll settle this later."

We'll settle this later? What the hell? Was an "ace" card even that important? Whatever Taisuke wanted, if I were Monokuma, I wouldn't trade just a regular solitaire card for hell.

Taisuke turned around, and saw all of us facing him, with confused stares. What were Taisuke and Monokuma talking about? Taisuke didn't talk much, but did he have anything to do with Monokuma? Then again, it definitely sounded like Taisuke had hostile intentions for Monokuma. I looked around the crowd of faces surrounding me, and I could see the terrified faces surrounding Taisuke and Monokuma.

"Now, now," Monokuma started, "it's not the time to be scared about Taisuke! He didn't talk much at all for a reason!" That even confused us more. "By the way you guys, you seemed to get a little too comfortable with each other earlier today. I don't have a problem with you guys bowling, but I think now is a good time to present to you even another incentive, right?"

Monokuma got up, and presented us with different envelopes. The envelopes were colored randomly, and on the front of it were our names, written in pen. Quickly, we all simultaneously ripped open the envelopes. I didn't know what would be shown inside. Would it be our families being threatened? Would it be something even more ridiculous than that? We would only find out as we took the paper slipped in, out of the envelope, and into our hands. The paper, being neatly folded in thirds, contained something I would have never expected.

"_Uniqueness. Want to be unique? You'll become a national celebrity after this! How's that? But only __**after you graduate!**__"_

That was written in my paper. Uniqueness. What was this? What could Monokuma have been talking about?

"Your deepest desire is written on that envelope!" Monokuma explained. "Doesn't that want to make you _kill?_ I mean, money, fame, fortune, anything you want, could be yours after graduation!"

"I'm already famous," sighed Saya. "So I'd have no need for such a petty thing like my desire."

"That's true for you!" said Monokuma. "But what about for someone, say, Senji?" 

Senji's face who has turned a deep dark blue, looked up above his note, and stared at Monokuma with a glare in his eyes. His fist was clenched, and it looked like was ready to strike and defeat Monokuma at any given time. "You…" he said. "How did you figure this out?"

Ignoring Senji, Monokuma continued. "Or how about Takako? Or even Kouichi?"

"Eh?" Takako said, holding her hands above her face. "Wh-what about me? I don't know anything! I'm fine! I… I… I –"

"You mean this piece of shit?" asked Kouichi. His normal tone of voice completely changed. He took out his letter, and ripped it in half, and shoved the pieces in his pocket. "This wouldn't scratch me at all. I'm a fucking contract killer, Monokuma." Kouichi was trying to be strong, I could tell. But his eyes were bulging. He was strong on the outside, but on the inside, he was just like Senji and Takako. Afraid.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" said Monokuma. "You all say you're okay, but I know deep down, in your hearts, some kind of deep darkness is clawing out, waiting to get out! I can't wait to see that blossom! Upupupu!" Monokuma then disappeared with a simple snap of his fingers, and we were all left in terrible confusion. This journey was an awful one.

There was Taisuke's mysterious relationship with Monokuma. Then there were the secrets of Senji and Takako. What could this lead to?

I walked up to Senji. His face was still painted in a dark blue, and everyone saw the horror deep within his face. Senji's fist was still clenched, and I could hear him growl through his teeth. "I… I can't keep up with this…" Senji's took off his sunglasses and kneeled onto the floor. His face was a true twist of horror. Looking at Takako, she was also stricken with fear. Setsuna was doing her best to comfort her, but I could see the fear in Takako's eyes was worse than it ever was.

I walked up to Kouichi, who rest resting his head in the palm of his right hand. Kouichi looked dead on the outside, but he managed to stare at me and smile.

"It's okay," he said to me. "Don't be worried."

"Are you sure you're fine?" I asked. Kouichi nodded, and took out his letter and handed it to me.

"You can read it," he said smiling at me. "I trust you." He brushed hair out of his face, and I looked at the letter that Kouichi handed me. Inside the letter, read the following:

"_Wouldn't you love a rewind switch? You know, like having to kill your own family? Or perhaps, even becoming a contract killer in the first place? Well, how does THIS sound: __**your records will be gone, disappeared!**__ You aren't a contract killer anymore! SWAT! __**BUT ONLY AFTER GRADUATION!"**_

__I looked at Kouichi, who was still smiling at me. I didn't know what to think. Him killing his own family? The weirdest thing was, Kouichi was still smiling at me. It was as if I were the one who needed to be comforted.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't kill you."

"What? No!" I said. "I wasn't thinking that. But you… killing your own family. It sounds unspeakable."

"Oh," he said, his smile instantly turning into a frown, making me realize I had said he absolute wrong thing.

"O-oh! I'm sorry!" I said. "I didn't mean to!" 

"No, it's okay," he said. "But it's not something I feel comfortable talking about right now. Eventually though, if you want to know about it…"

He turned around and flashed another bright smile at me, being the incredibly optimistic person he is. "Is bowling still on?" I nodded, and smiled back.

"I'm going to go check on the others," I said. Kouichi nodded, and sat down on a nearby bench, closing his eyes.

"He can't be thinking about murder," I said to myself. Kouichi wasn't that kind of guy. Sure, he was a contract killer. But…

Next, I found Setsuna comforting Takako, who was crying on the ground.

"She's definitely broken," Setsuna said. I kneeled beside Takako, and put my hand on her shoulder, doing my best to help Setsuna comfort her. Takako finally calmed down after a few minutes, and she got up, brushing her skirt.

"I'm okay now," she said to us. "But, I can't believe Monokuma could have ever…"

"What did your note say?" asked Setsuna. "It's fine if you don't want to show it to us." Takako nodded, and said she preferred not to show it to anyone. Takako sighed, and sat back down on the ground, crossing her legs.

"I appreciate you, Setsuna," Takako said. "I had friends, but I never had time to hang out with them because of my job as a tutor." Takako spread her legs on the ground, and Setsuna sat beside her.

"Don't worry!" she said. "I released you from God's karma, so you don't have to worry."

"Karma?" Takako said, very smugly. "What karma?" The two began to laugh, and I realized that Setsuna was able to handle the situation fairly well. The one I was most confused about was Senji. We didn't know anything about him, other than the fact that he's rather dark. Senji was resting against the wall, arms crossed. It looked like the last twenty minutes did not happen at all to him.

"Are you okay, Senji?" I asked. "I mean, you seem fine now…"

"Yes, I'm fine," he said. "I'm just a little shaken up."

Replaying the scene in my head, it seemed like Senji was a little more than shaken up back then.

"Senji?" I asked. "Does your secret have anything to do with your talent?" 

Senji took off his sunglasses again, and took a glance at me. "No matter what you do," he said, "I will never reveal the identity of my talent. Never." Senji stopped leaning against the wall, and he walked back into the dormitories.

I got back with the others, and Hideaki walked up to me.

"Did you find out anything?" he said.

"Kouichi's letter," I said. "That's it, the other two were secretive."

Hideaki nodded, and sighed. "I feel bad," he said, and walked to the dormitories. I glanced at my watch. It was still 12:00, and I realized I had plenty of time on my own. I didn't know exactly what to do though for seven hours till we all decided to go bowling. I didn't even know if we were all still on to go bowling, but eventually, the time came to check it out.

I arrived at the bowling alley, and when I entered, I was pleasantly surprised to see Hideaki waiting for people inside. He already set up the game, knowing the teams, but he still didn't greet me. That was his character, I suppose.

Hideaki and I started to talk a little, and wait for others to arrive. First to arrive was Saya, then Taisuke came, then so did Megumi. Slowly, everyone came in, ready to bowl, except for Kouichi, Takako, and Senji.

"Hideaki," I said, "Kouichi, Takako, and Senji aren't here." Hideaki looked concerned about this, and told me not to worry for the meantime. Everyone was worried though, about what might happen if they were left unattended. Yet, later, Kouichi arrived, just in time for the game to start.

We started bowling, and you know what, it was a lot of fun! Our team won, mostly thanks to Hideaki, since it appeared one of his multi-talents was being a bowler. The other team was dumbfounded at Hideaki's skills, and he even got a perfect score by the end of it. We all stared at him, as he shrugged it off like it was nothing.

Things were going well, until it was Hideaki who dampened the mood a little.

"Hey, Kouichi," he said. "Have you seen Takako or Senji?" We were all sitting in a circle, eating some snacks, and yet, the mood dropped like death when I heard what Hideaki had to say.

"I'm going to check on them," Hideaki said. "I just… want to make sure." Just like that, Hideaki left, asking us to wait here. As minutes passed, Kouichi began to start a new game (putting Hideaki on his own team), and as we were waiting for Hideaki, minutes went by.

Then a few minutes turned to ten. Then ten minutes turned to twenty. It was by half an hour that we realized something wasn't right. Hideaki hasn't come back yet. I had… I had to find him.

"You guys!" I said. "It's been…"

"We have to find him," Kouichi said.

"I recommend we pair up," Taisuke said.

"But wouldn't it be faster to split up?" Miyu asked.

"We cannot allow any false alibis," Taisuke said. "Everyone pair up. However, there will be one group of three because of an odd one out." 

All this talk about splitting up and searching, it made me worry even more. Perhaps Takako or Senji killed one another, or did Hideaki actually die himself? He didn't come back for half an hour.

"Ayako, I'll search with you," Kouichi offered. "Let's find Hideaki first."

"I-I'll come too!" Miyu said. "But, why Hideaki first?" 

"If Takako or Senji died," Kouichi said with an unusually serious expression, "then they would have died already. We're better searching off for someone who's possibly alive."

The three of us bolted out of the doors of the bowling alley. Hideaki's not dead, that's what I thought to myself. As we searched the academy top to bottom, looked at the beach, the gym, the cafeteria, and finally, as were entering the building housing the classrooms and infirmary, I was confident. Hideaki wasn't dead. He couldn't have been killed. But, was that a thought that was clouding my mind as an illusion? I couldn't say that to myself, but somehow, in the bottom of my heart, I couldn't rule it out as a possibility. I need doubt to act as a cushion for pain.

And a cushion it was. Because to my shock, in front of the third classroom on the third floor, I saw Hideaki sprawled, face flat. His head had spilled blood, and there was a kitchen knife stuck in the back of his chest. I looked around me, and though Miyu and Kouichi weren't here, searching the other floors, I kneeled in front of Hideaki. I was horrified, no, mortified, at the sight of Hideaki, dead in front of me.

_**Continued in Chapter 2: Investigation**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#6

Monokuma: Oh, whoops! Uh, I think I might have written it wrong.

Monokuma: Um, okay, let's see here…

Monokuma: Heh, this is awkward, you see, because this chapter really isn't over!  
Monokuma: So, it's not really actually continued in Chapter 2: Investigation.

Monokuma: It's actually continued right now!

Monokuma: Isn't that cool?

***

Hearing my screams, Rin and Kouichi rushed up to the third floor and found me, and Hideaki. Horrified at the thought of another dead friend, Kouichi slowly brought his two fingers to Hideaki's neck. He was checking for a pulse, and after a while, Kouichi sighed a sigh of relief.

"He's not dead," Kouichi said. "We need to get him to the infirmary, quick."

Kouichi picked up Hideaki's body, and the three of us rushed to the infirmary on the first floor. As we set Hideaki onto a bed, Kouichi got to work and started to treat him, while I called the others and told them to come over here as fast as they could. Slowly, but surely, everyone piled into the infirmary and we were all beside Hideaki as he was resting on the bed, and even Kichiro managed to find Takako and force her in. Senji came in willingly, having gotten my text, and kneeled beside Hideaki.

"His wound is recent," Kouichi said. "It had to have happened in the last ten minutes."

"How could you tell?" Noburu sighed. "You're just a contract killer…"

"As a contract killer," Kouichi started, "I've had experiences of my allies being shot in numerous different places. I have medical experience."

We all stared at Kouichi as he continued to treat Hideaki. Hideaki's breathing was getting slower and slower, but he was still breathing. We couldn't let him die here. Kouichi wrapped a bandage over his head to stop the bleeding, and he did the same with his knife wound, though he had to take a considerable amount of blood out to remove contents of mercury. After about twenty minutes, Kouichi sighed, signaling his completion and Hideaki was resting on the bed, clearly in pain, but still alive.

"Jeez," Kouichi said. "It's lucky he's still alive in the first place…"

"That's great he's alive," I said, "but then again, the murderer is still loose."

"H-huh?" Miyu said fearfully. "What do you mean?"

"One of us had to attack him," Saya said. "It's obvious who our suspects can be narrowed down to, though."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked. "Are you saying Takako or Senji had to do it?!"

"Of course!" Saya said. "What else? The two didn't bowl with us at all! The two don't have any reliable alibis, save for each other maybe! But can we really trust _that?_"

I was still kneeling behind Hideaki, my hand on his forehead. He was growing a fever, yet his breathing managed to become more stable. He was slowly recovering.

"I didn't t-touch him!" said Takako defensively.

"Neither did I," said Senji, cool and collected. "However, we cannot assume it was one of us two that was the one who attacked Hideaki."

"Why not?" asked Saya. "It seems perfectly reasonable."

"Kouichi," Senji started, "has had plenty of medical experience, and he has personally stated that he was attacked in the last ten minutes since the body was found. Ayako, what time did you find the body?"

"Um," I said, "we got to the infirmary at about 8:33, so I think I found him either then or at 8:32, a minute earlier."

"So we can assume that the murderer had a window between 8:20 to 8:30, but there would have to be an accomplice."

"An accomplice?" Saya asked. "Why would there be an accomplice?"

"You were all split up into groups," Senji explained. "That would mean either one of you had to be alone, and was able to attack Hideaki, and then divert the other one's attention from the third floor. Either that, or two of you knew who attacked Hideaki."

"Of course, that's only assuming that you two weren't the ones to attack him," Taisuke said. "You know, it's perfectly possible that _you_ two were accomplices in this!"

"You mean, m-me and Senji?" stammered Takako. "N-no way! I could never –"

"You two have solid motives as well," said Taisuke, raising a finger and opening his eyes wide. "The letters that Monokuma called you out on, stirred up quite a reaction from you two didn't it?"

"T-then, what about Kouichi?!" said Takako.

"Huh?" Kouichi said. "Hell no! I wouldn't touch Hideaki!"

"Th-that's really convincing! Coming from someone who kills for a living!" 

"Shut it!"

"Silly Takako," Taisuke said. "No, no, it's impossible for Kouichi. If I recall, he was paired up with Rin and Ayako, meaning he was with the two the whole time! Yet, it was Ayako who found the body first!"

"Then that makes Ayako a suspect too!" Takako said, attacking me. "She found him first! She attacked him first!" What? She was accusing _me_ of attacking Hideaki? I just discovered his body!

"You honestly think that Ayako would hurt Hideaki, even a little?!" lashed Rin. "Those two have the best relationship between each other than any of us!"

"It's not possible for Ayako to have hurt Hideaki," Kouichi said. "The attack didn't happen at least two minutes before the body was found, and when we heard Ayako's scream, we got there with plenty of time to spare."

"So it's back to Takako and Senji as suspects," Saya said.

"Well, I propose we start a mini investigation!" Taisuke said. "We do not want any more murders on our hands, now do we?"

"We'll need to split up again, then, right?" Noburu asked. "Because, if one of us is killed during the investigation, we'll all need an alibi."

"That's right!" Taisuke said, raising another finger. "We all need to pair up again, don't we? Then I recommend we all split up into the same groups as before!"

"What about Senji and Takako?" Rikiya asked. "They can't be left alone."

"Why of course!" Taisuke said. "Which is why they can choose any group to join!" Takako immediately went to Setsuna's side, and Senji slowly advanced towards us, offering to help in our investigation. "Then it's settled!"

"No!" I said. "What about Hideaki's body? If he's left alone, someone could finish him off!"

"Which is why we'll wait until he wakes up," Saya said.

We stared at Hideaki, waiting for a long time, and after about an hour, he opened his eyes.

"Ow…" he moaned. "My chest… What…" I ran to Hideaki's side and grasped his hand.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked immediately. Hideaki nodded, and coughed into his other hand. "You were attacked by someone," I explained. "Do you remember anything?"

Hideaki closed his eyes, and rested his head on the pillow to think. After a while, he spoke up and shook his head.

"They must have attacked me from behind," Hideaki said. "I don't remember anything about the attacker." We all looked at each other. These faces weren't the faces back at the movie theater, or at the bowling alley. These faces were faces of mistrust, and lies.

"Come on," I said to Hideaki. "I know you're hurt, but we need to watch over you. You can investigate with us." Hideaki nodded, and Rin helped carry him over. He rested on Rin's shoulder, and as she guided him to walk, the groups departed, to search for the attacker.

The attacker, whoever did this, they wouldn't get away this time! They wouldn't! 

We brought Hideaki to the third floor, where he was attacked. Setsuna, Takako, and Surugu were there as well.

"Roger! Say hi to these five!" Suguru said.

_Bark!_

"God bless ," Setsuna said, and she kissed her fingers and brought it to the blood. 

"What was that?" Takako asked.

"A tradition with my family. If you kiss blood left behind, the carrier will be blessed for the rest of his life."

"That's awfully strange… and situational," Takako said.

"Did you guys find anything out?" I asked.

"Well, the knife had to come from the cafeteria," Suguru said. "See this? It says, 'Belongs to Hope's Peak Academy.'"

"So whoever attacked Hideaki, had to bring a knife from the cafeteria on the way to look for him, go to the third floor between 8:20-8:30, since the injury couldn't have happened for the last two minutes."

"Then they have to have been able to leave the building without being detected by you," Senji said.

"Jeez, this guy went through a lot of trouble," Rin sighed.

As we all were discussing the attack, along came Kichiro and Miyu.

"What did you all find out?" Kichiro asked. He scratched his head and adjusted his earring, and Miyu hid behind Kichiro to avoid the sight of any leftover blood from Hideaki's knife wound. We told Kichiro and Miyu about what we were able to deduce, and as we were staring at the scene of crime, Hideaki spoke up.

"Hold on," Hideaki said, "something is missing here."

"What?" Rin asked. "Were you stabbed twice?" 

"No, he wasn't," Kouichi said. "I think he's referring to his head wound." Hideaki nodded.

"Where's the weapon used to attack my head? It's not anywhere around here."

We all searched the third floor, but there was nothing that could be lethal to use for blunt force, or anything that had been covered in blood.

"Jeez… this is hard," Rin said, sighing. "I wonder when we're going to get any leads!"

"All we know," Kichiro started, "is that he was attacked with a knife from the cafeteria between a certain window. Do we need to interrogate some of the groups?"

"I don't think that's reliable enough," Hideaki said, struggling through breaths. "If an accomplice was involved in this case, then that would mean that the group could easily lie."

"How do you know about the accomplices?" Rin asked.

"Intuition," Hideaki said.

"That's my stepbrother…"

Investigating furthermore, we decided to split up into groups. Kouichi would go with Takako and Senji and make sure that they didn't harm anyone, and the others would look at the surrounding areas. Everyone else went in one whole group, and headed to the cafeteria, as the knife was presumably found there.

Looking around, we didn't see anything out of the ordinary until Noburu and Tomakazu walked in the room.

"Ayako, Rin!" called out Noburu. "Did you find anything?"

I shook my head, and while I was talking to Noburu and Tomakazu, I heard Hideaki sigh in the distance. Looking at the knives, we saw that there weren't any missing knives in the knife holder.

"So, the knife didn't come from the cafeteria?" I asked.

"S-so then, what's going on?!" Tomakazu said. "I can't… believe!"

As we were left to ponder about the attack of Hideaki, an announcement was made by Monokuma. This was a rather shocking announcement, and definitely unexpected. As I'm thinking about it, it almost seems rushed and too abrupt for it to have happened like this. We were in the middle of investigation, and we were talking about the murder, and yet, Monokuma's voice rang over the hallway, stabbing ours ears and making them bleed with sorrow.

His words spoken were this:

"_Attention! A corpse has been discovered! We're going to hold a class trial pretty soon, so investigate to your best abilities!"_

_**Continued in Chapter 2: Investigation**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#7

Monokuma: Do you know the muffin man?

Monokuma: That rhyme really bothers me.

Monokuma: That's because it's obvious no one knows who the hell the muffin man is.

Monokuma: What a stupid question.


	9. Chapter 2: Investigation

Monokuma: Yo! It's the Monokuma recap board!

Monokuma: Well, Hideaki isn't dead, so that sort of sucks…

Monokuma: But on the bright side, while trying to find Hideaki's attacker, someone else died!

Monokuma: Upupupu! Let's get the train rolling!

The corpse discovery announcement… it set me ablaze and sent me down in a spiraling tower of terror. Who would feel the _need_ to kill again? It had to be for their selfish desires. Even Kouichi was strong enough to get past his past; him killing his family and living his life as a trained killer. I felt little need for my incentive, yet _kill_ over it. Yet, again, there was the death of another friend of mine. I had to find out whom, but I was afraid to find out the truth. The truth of who could have done it, whoever could've killed. Disturbing the peace of our academy was a crime in my book, and I'd find out who did it.

I received a text from Kyouko saying that the murder happened at the bowling alley. I was scared to find out the truth, but I had to go and confront my fear. The ten of us at investigating the body quickly made our way into the bowling alley, and this murder that we encountered was no normal murder. It was a horrifying death, and something I didn't know anyone in the right mind could commit. This was the murder created by a madman. Looking in the arcade, I saw Megumi's head, cracked by a nearby bowling ball. I couldn't believe my eyes. Megumi… the friendly academy dolt, someone who got along with everyone just by pure innocence, was lying on the floor, dead.

Hideaki – even with his injury – was able to walk on his own by this point, and he slowly advanced to Megumi's body and began to investigate immediately. It wasn't right, for Hideaki to dispatch all emotion and start to immediately investigate. We didn't have time to mourn, or accept the death of Megumi. Yet, he was there, kneeling on the floor, looking at her head, and taking the time to find out what happened. Kouichi got on his knees, and clasped his hands together. He looked to be praying, but he was whispering words of mourning for Megumi. It was weird to see a professional killer carry this much emotion about the dead, and I would tell you that I was lying, but it happened.

At this point, Monokuma arrived, wearing a tutu and driver's helmet, spinning in a circle. "Vroom, vroom! I'm a ballerina driver!" He started to laugh at himself, and when he realized that no one would laugh at his sick joke, he finally handed us the first piece of evidence we'd need for the trial: the second Monokuma File.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Monokuma File #2: Says the following – Victim: Megumi Sato | Time of Death: 8:48 PM | Cause of death was blunt force trauma, presumably from the bowling ball found near the body.

"Happy investigating!" Monokuma said.

"Wait, Monokuma," Hideaki said. "I have a question for you."

"Hmm? What is it, my little highschool spy?"

"Spy?" I said to myself.

Ignoring Monokuma and I, he continued, "if there was an accomplice, would the accomplice be allowed to leave as well?"

"Hmm," Monokuma started, "I don't want to say anything that might make things more uninteresting, but I don't want to be unfair. So my answer is: no! The accomplice would've just helped the killer for nothing!"

Hideaki nodded, and there were murmurs around the room talking about the possibility of there being an accomplice dropping to zero. Hideaki spoke out about this, telling everyone that the work of an accomplice is still possible, due to this being new news to the rest of everyone else. As Hideaki continued to investigate the body, Saya decided to a little investigating herself.

Saya walked over to the bowling ball nearby her head, and she picked it up. "It's a ten pound ball," Saya said. "There's blood near the finger holes, and blood leaving from her head."

"Near the finger holes?" asked Hideaki. "It's not anywhere else?" Saya shook her head.

"So?" Saya asked. "Does that tell us anything important?"

"Not really, just that they didn't hit Megumi using the finger holes. They grappled it from its sides and slammed it on her head. But that probably won't matter much."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Bowling Ball: The murder weapon. Seems to have been grabbed by the sides instead of fingers in the finger holes.

"T-the murderer must have been Takako, Senji, or Kouichi!" said Rin nervously. "They were the only three who got provided motives from Monokuma, a-and on top of that, they went alone together!"

"At this point, those three would not have worked together, considering one of them were the culprit," Hideaki said. "Monokuma has already told us that accomplices do not get to graduate together."

"That's assuming however, that she was murdered after we found you attacked," Saya contemplated. "She easily could have been killed and hidden during the investigation for you, Hideaki."

"The wound happens to be fairly recent, however," Hideaki said. "This blood is still fairly new, and it still stains my fingers."

"Then if that's the case," Saya started, "there's no chance for there to be an accomplice in this case, is there?" Hideaki shook his head, and thought a little more. Beckoning for Saya to come over, he whispered something in her ear, and a smile crept up on her face. "Ho, ho, Hideaki, perhaps you aren't such a commoner after all. I see where you're going with that." Saya and Hideaki then left the room, leaving me to do my own investigation.

Walking outside the arcade, I saw Hideaki walking into the storage room with Saya. Uninterested, I checked around the surrounding areas of the bowling alley, but found nothing odd or out of place. If the murder truly happened like this, this is what I deduced: the killer walked in and found Megumi and whoever she was investigating with. In any case, the killer managed to sneak behind the radar of Megumi's partner, and then using the bowling ball, he smashed her in the head with great force. After that, the killer managed to sneakily walk away. However, this killer had to have had the necessary skills to avoid any contact with anyone at all. Thinking to myself, the only people who might've been able to do that to my personal knowledge, would be Kouichi or Hideaki. But it couldn't have been Hideaki because he was with us the whole time when he split up. However, it could've been Kouichi, who was with Takako and Senji. Coincidentally, those three are the ones provoked by Monokuma when he was handing out our incentives.

But… it couldn't have been Kouichi. As my thoughts were running wild in my head, Hideaki walked up to me, and asked me to follow him into the storage room.

* * *

_**Location: Bowling Alley Storage Room | Time: 9:01 PM | Chapter Two**_

I recognized this storage room as the room that held all the backup bowling balls and bowling pins. Hideaki led me to the belt where they would load the bowling pins, and to my surprise, at the very end of the belt, where a set of ten bowling pins. Five of them were bloodied, however.

"I think if this was used in the murder," Hideaki said, "then it is possible that the bowling ball was in fact not used as the murder weapon."

"But, wasn't the cause of death blunt force trauma?" I asked. "A bowling pin isn't powerful enough to take someone out in one blow."

"Which is why five of them are covered in blood," Saya sighed. "Honestly, we don't need to spell things out for you, do we?"

"But five bowling pins still wouldn't do enough damage," Hideaki pondered. "These are relatively light bowling pins. They aren't heavy at all."

"Then, it's possible someone strong could have done it?" I considered. "If someone strong enough were to hit the bowling pin as strong as they could on a person's head, five times at that, it could be possible, couldn't it?"

"Also," Hideaki added, "there's nothing to say against the fact that a bowling pin wouldn't have been used more than once. The evidence lies in the fact that some bowling pins in this section have more blood than the others."

"What's the use though for using more than one bowling pin though?" Saya asked. "Honestly, this killer had to have been an idiot." Looking at the bowling pins carefully, I noticed something shining in the trash can near it. Peering inside it, I saw a diamond ring. I recognized it as the ring that Megumi wore when we all met up with each other, but the strange thing was that it was in the trash can here, where the bowling pins are loaded.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Bowling Pins: Five bowling pins have blood on them. Some of the pins have more blood than others.

4: Diamond Ring: A ring belonging to Megumi was found in the trash can near the belt loading the bowling pins.

"I think we might be overthinking things," Hideaki said. "Let's assume for a second, that Megumi was indeed here. She had to have been investigating things with someone else. Now, this was after we split up to look for my attacker."

"For now, we need to come up with a suspect list," said Saya. "We aren't going to go anywhere with speculation. I already know the first three people to write down." She took out a notepad, and she wrote in the names: _"KOUICHI, TAKAKO, SENJI."_

"W-wait," I said. "I don't think –"

"Don't let sentimentality get in the way of our investigation," Saya said with a smirk. "Kouichi is a contract killer. He obviously could've possessed skills to effectively bludgeon someone with a bowling pin. Senji, as we all know, is ripped to the point that anymore exercise for him could rip open his skin. Takako is the least likely out of the three, but we cannot put aside any possibilities." I asked Saya to look at the suspect list, and I frowned. It wasn't that this wasn't good thinking, but there was a sentimentality that I possessed. Saya called it out, but I knew Kouichi and Takako couldn't murder someone. Though Senji is a rather dark person, I don't think he could have killed anyone as well.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

5: Suspect List: A suspect list made by Saya. Currently holds the names: Kouichi, Takako, and Senji.

"Next, we should find out who was working with Megumi during the time we were looking for my attacker," Hideaki said. "I don't know who to ask though without splitting up across the academy and asking everyone ourselves."

"We could try asking Taisuke," I said. "He seemed to take charge of your investigation."

"You mean that creepy con artist?" Saya sighed. "I'd rather not talk to him, but I could wait from a distance while you two force some information out of him." Diva, I thought to myself. But this was no time for spite, we had to get out there and find Taisuke.

* * *

_**Location: Bowling Alley Arcade | Time: 9:09 PM | Chapter Two**_

Looking around, Taisuke was nowhere to be found. No one else was there, except for our three main suspects: Kouichi, Takako, and Senji.

"You three!" Saya called out. "I demand to know where you were!"

"Y-you think I'm really going to help a freaking diva like you?!" Takako snapped. "I-in your dreams! Things don't always have to go your way!"

"Then do it to help me," Hideaki said, interrupting Saya and Takako. "We just want to know if you guys saw Taisuke on the way out."

"We didn't," Kouichi responded. "But he might be at the cafeteria. Rikiya was working with Taisuke, and Rikiya said to himself that he had to go to the cafeteria quickly."

"It sounded sort of ominous," Takako said, having calmed down from Saya's verbal attacks. "I was sort of worried at that point, but I'm sure it's nothing…"

"We should hurry," Hideaki said. "We don't want to miss our lead." Hideaki rushed out of the arcade, and out of the bowling alley. I thanked the three, but on my way out, Kouichi grabbed me by the arm and stopped me.

"You don't think I did it, do you?" Kouichi asked. Realizing the right thing to say, I shook my head, and assured him that we just couldn't let down any possibilities. But in the back of my mind, something told me if someone were to do it because of that letter, Kouichi had to be the one.

Sighing, I followed Saya out the door, and I took a quick glance behind me. The one time I saw Kouichi before leaving, was with a sad face. As he looked at me as we departed, his face didn't harbor his usual smile. Instead, he was wearing a frown, and his eyes became narrow, and a tear dripped from his right eye.

* * *

_**Location: Cafeteria | Time: 9:18 PM | Chapter Two**_

We entered the cafeteria as fast as we could, and we saw Rikiya move in the kitchen. Heading inside, we saw Taisuke and Rikiya, both investigating the knife holder. Taisuke held up a sharp kitchen knife, and put it back down. As he heard us slide open the kitchen doors, he turned around, picked up a knife, and pointed it straight at my face.

"W-woah!" I said. "Slow down there!"

"Would you like to play, 'Spin the Knife?'" Taisuke asked. "I still would love that watch you have."

"N-no… We just had to ask you a question."

"Oh? You're working with that devilish actor, I see?" Taisuke said. "I'm surprised, this girl doesn't look like the kind to openly include anyone."

"What the hell did you say to me?" Saya asked. "You're nothing more than just a filthy criminal, roaming the streets and tricking other filthy people, into playing _your_** filthy** games! So don't you dare insult me, you pig!"

"Like I said," Taisuke said, sighing and turning back to the knife holder. "Devilish."

"In any case," Rikiya interrupted, "what did you guys need to ask Taisuke?"

"Well, you know," I started, "we were just wondering if you guys knew who Megumi was working with during the investigation."

"I don't," Rikiya said. "Sorry."

"I'm afraid I cannot remember as well," Taisuke said. He rose up a finger and pointed it at my forehead, tapping it slowly and steadily. "But, maybe you could ask Megumi herself. She's bound to know whoever Megumi was working with."

"B-but she's –"

"Oh! Right!" Taisuke realized. "Megumi died, didn't she? Shame on me, Taisuke. Shame on me." Taisuke got back to investigating the knives, leaving even Saya dumbfounded.

"Anyways, did you guys find anything in relevance to this case?" I asked.

"No," Taisuke said.

"Oh…"

"But we found something in relevance to Hideaki's attack," Rikiya said. "I think maybe that Hideaki's attack and Megumi's murder might have been linked.

"That's likely to be the case," Hideaki said, "but what did you find out?"

Taisuke picked up the knife holder, and dumped all the knives out as they clattered onto the floor. "As you can see," Taisuke started, "none of the knives has anything encrypted on it on the handle."

"Encrypted?" I said. "I think that's the wrong word…"

"Anyways," Taisuke said, interrupting me, "we can assume the knife came from somewhere else. Secondly, we can assume that the attack was premeditated like we assumed before."

"Wait a minute," Saya said, "we already found that out."

"However, now we know a new location of where the knife used against me could be," Hideaki said.

"So the knife might have been from the third floor?" I asked. Taisuke nodded, and raised another finger. "However, there's also something interesting that might grab your attention," Taisuke said. Inside the cabinet, he took out a large broken beaker, with blood on the edges. "You see, this beaker came from the science room within the third floor," Taisuke said. "What if perhaps, that the knife also came from this science room?"

"That's right," Hideaki said. "The knife used to stab me didn't look like a kitchen knife." I took the beaker from Taisuke, and looked at it carefully. In any case, it was worth a look.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Glass Beaker: A broken beaker with blood on the edges of where it broke.

7: Kitchen Knives: None of the knives have an inscription on it, meaning that the knife did not come from the kitchen. Furthermore, this proves that the attack on Hideaki wasn't premeditated.

"Shall we go to the science room?" I asked to Hideaki.

"I suppose it's worth a try," Saya said, and with that, the three of us departed.

* * *

_  
_**Location: Science Room (Classroom 3C) | Time: 9:31 PM | Chapter Two**_

As soon as we entered the science room, we split up and looked for any clues. Looking around the room, I searched the cabinets near the emergency shower, and found nothing of use. However, I looked in the drawers beneath the sinks, and I saw a container holding large dissection knives. Taking one out and seeing if anything was written on the handle, I read what was on the knife that attacked Hideaki. "Belongs to Hope's Peak Academy." The knife also looked similar to what was used against Hideaki. More than likely, one of these knives were used to attack Hideaki. The question of whether or not Hideaki's attack was related to Megumi's murder was the question.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

8: Dissection Knives: Found in the science room on the third floor of the classrooms. Most likely the type of weapon used to attack Hideaki.

Calling out the others, I showed them my discovery. In addition to mine, Hideaki revealed to have looked in the trash can, and found glass pieces with blood on them. This matched the broken beaker completely.

"So, this beaker was used to knock you out," I said. "Then the attacker took the pieces and threw them away here."

"How careless," Saya said.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

9: Glass Pieces: Found in the trashcan in the science room. These broken pieces have blood on them, most likely from Hideaki's attack.

"The worst part is," I said, "we still don't know whether or not that this is related at all to the case we're investigating."

"This could have just been a huge waste of time," Saya said, yawning. Hideaki looked troubled, and I could tell that he was worried about the trial as well.

Either way, while we were thinking, Monokuma's voice rang through the intercom.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Um, you guys have investigated long enough, I think," _Monokuma's voice said. _"So let's all start this trial! Let's do it, with a __**bang**__ if you know what I mean!"_

As soon as the announcement ended, we left the science room, exited the classroom buildings, and headed together for the park gazebo. If it's anything like last time, we're going to be sent underground into that awful courtroom. And like last time, we're going to have to find out who the killer was…

…and then send him to execution!

As soon as we arrived at the park gazebo, we saw everyone waiting for us patiently inside it.

"Looks like everyone's here!" Monokuma said. "Oh man, the second trial! This is exciting, isn't it? I'm almost shaking, I mean, this murder was sort of cruel, you guys!"

As Monokuma pulled the lever, the platform took us down the lift. Slower, and slower we went, down further into the ground, only to face our fates.

As we entered the courtroom, we noticed that the décor was different than before. Instead of a typical court room, instead, the room was decorated white and black, as if we were in a spy movie. We stepped up to our nameplates, and still looking around the room, Hideaki spoke out again.

"What is this?" he asked. "The decorations changed completely."

"Well, as I see it, it would've gotten bored for just the same old, same old design, don't you think? So I created at least ten courtrooms for us to have fun in! If you guys want to rent one out for a party, just say so!"

As Hideaki thought about what Monokuma just said, I looked over all the evidence that we had collected. It may not have been enough, but for now, it would suffice just fine.

No matter how much, or how little of a chance we have, it was time to finger the villain. It was time to start…

The class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter 2: Class Trial**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#8

Monokuma: You know that fairy tale? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?  
Monokuma: What a silly tale.

Monokuma: I mean, I have such an orgasmic singing voice…

Monokuma: But the last time I went in the forest to be praised by animals…

Monokuma: A huge mountain lion came and attacked me!

Monokuma: So you see? Fairy tales are just lies! They aren't real!


	10. Chapter 2: Class Trial

**AU: Hello! It's Captain Pancakes! FanFiction is deciding to be a total jerk right now, messing up my formatting with underlines and italics and other annoying stuff like that, the biggest asshole in the room being the fact that it won't let me enter a link to Photobucket where I made pictures for Epiphany Anagram. So while I attempt to make this thing work actually, I apologize in advance if things look weird or are off. **

Monokuma: Yo! It's the recap board again!

Monokuma: Megumi Sato, the class idiot, has been killed!

Monokuma: This class trial will really twist you into knots, kids!

Monokuma: Upupupu!

* * *

==Megumi Sato's death!==Did Kouichi, Senji, or Takako really commit the murder?==How could there be an accomplice?==

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **second** class trial! You all know the drill.

Monokuma: Finger the **TRUE** villain, and the villain will be **PUNISHED**, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the **WRONG** villain, and instead, **YOU GUYS** will be **PUNISHED**¸ leaving your deceiver to leave, **FREE & CLEAR!**

Monokuma: I'll let you guys start the debate from this point on!

Tomakazu: But, the murderer, it's obvious!

Monokuma: Woah! How hot!~

Taisuke: How so?

Noburu: It has to be Kouichi, Senji, or Takako.

Noburu: It's the only possibility!

Kouichi: W-woah!

Takako: Hold on!

Kouichi: We would never kill any of you!

Noburu: How can we trust those words coming from a contract killer?

Kouichi: H-huh?

Noburu: Weren't you a paid assassin? Why should we believe the words that you wouldn't kill anyone?

Kouichi: I didn't do it! You'd better shut up, or – or else –

Noburu: Tch! Or else what? You going to kill me right here?

Kouichi: Tch… ugh…

Ayako: _I can't accept that Kouichi killed Megumi._

Ayako: _I just can't…_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kouichi: Y-you think I killed Megumi?

Kouichi: Bullshit! **Fucking bullshit!**

Noburu: Ha! I'm going to spell out how you did it!

Rin: You must've seen Megumi…

Rin: …**and then killed her with the bowling ball.**

Tomakazu: How's about that?

Tomakazu: You're the killer, aren't you?!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Bowling Pins_]

Ayako: No… it's possible the bowling ball wasn't the murder weapon.

Noburu: Uh, huh?

Rin: Ayako, what are you saying?

Saya: She's referring to the bowling pins we saw in the storage room.

Rin: Hmm? The bowling pins?

Hideaki: When we investigated the storage room of the bowling alley…

Hideaki: …we found a pile of bloody bowling pins.

Hideaki: It's hard to imagine these bowling pins are not related to this case.

Kichiro: But… if the bowling pins were the murder weapon, I see a couple things wrong with that.

Hideaki: Wrong? How?

Kichiro: First, I've handled the bowling pins before like you, and they are way to light to kill anyone.

Kichiro: Second, what does that make of the bowling ball? I can't imagine the bowling ball is obsolete.

Hideaki: Well, here's what I have to say about that.

Hideaki: For your first line of reasoning, on the each bowling pin bloodied, there was more blood on one than another, meaning a bowling pin may have hit the head more than once

Hideaki: I also imagine the holder of the bowling pin had to have been strong enough to make that big of an impact.

Kichiro: So… it's most likely not likely a girl this time?

Saya: What kind of sexual discrimination was that, commoner?

Kichiro: Tch! Idiot, I'm not being sexist. I'm just saying that the girls don't have exactly athletic talents.

Takako: W-well he's probably a right that a girl didn't commit the crime…

Hideaki: So here's the question.

Hideaki: Was the bowling pins or the bowling ball the murder weapon?

Ayako: _The bowling pins… they have lots of blood on them._

Ayako:_ But what does that make of the bowling ball?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: Was the **bowling ball** the murder weapon, or the **pins?**

Miyu: W-while the bowling ball doesn't have as much blood as the pins…

Miyu: **Is it possible to hit the pins to hit someone hard enough** that they would be killed?

Senji: For someone with great strength, it might be possible.

Koichi: I'm skinny as a stick, so I couldn't have done it.

Noburu: Ha! A contract killer would've found a way.

Koichi: My talent has nothing to do with this!

Tomakazu: Anyone with eyes could see that the murder weapon was the bowling ball!

Tomakazu: **There's no proof otherwise!**

Hideaki: Think carefully… is that really the case?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Diamond Ring_]

Ayako: Tomakazu, actually, there _is _proof that the weapon would have to be a bowling pin.

Tomakazu: EH?!

Hideaki: A diamond ring was found in the trash can near where we actually found the pins.

Ayako: I remember seeing it on Ayako's hand. It had to have been hers.

Taisuke: On that thought, let me bring up a new theory! _[raising finger]_

Ayako: A new… theory?

Taisuke: Think of a cool new idea! They took Megumi's ring, and planted it, as a red herring!

Ayako: A red herring?

Taisuke: Indeed! It's a plausible theory!

Ayako: Then what about the bowling pins?

Taisuke: Perhaps it was a red herring as well! Remember back to Hideaki's attack? We all went to the infirmary after that! Did you think to look at the fridge?

Hideaki: No.

Taisuke: What's that?

Hideaki: There's a reason why the ring couldn't be a red herring.

Taisuke: Hmm? Why is that?

Hideaki: Ayako, you know, don't you? Somewhere.

Ayako: _Do I know? Of course I don't!_

Ayako: _But… I think I can figure it out. What Hideaki is talking about._

Ayako: _Okay, let's do this!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Taisuke: And why can't the diamond ring **be a red herring?**

Hideaki: It's a simple reason, really.

Hideaki: Ayako, you know, don't you?

Rin: W-why are you pinning things on her?

Kichiro: Whatever, we just gotta find out what Hideaki is talking about.

Miyu: If the diamond ring **isn't a red herring…**

Miyu: Then the murder weapon **had to be those pins, right?**

Kouichi: Ugh! We aren't getting anywhere with this!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Bowling Ball_]

Ayako: No, Taisuke, please think about something.

Taisuke: Hmm?

Ayako: If you claim that the bowling ball was the murder weapon, and the ring was in fact a red herring…

Ayako: …please consider the following!

Ayako: There isn't enough blood on either the bowling ball or the ring.

Hideaki: Looking back at the body in my mind, blood was spilling like crazy from her head. Much more blood would have gotten on it.

Senji: In addition, if that much blood came out, then the ring would have been soaked in blood?

Hideaki: Assuming that Megumi was standing up, she would have fallen, and the ring would have slid out of her hand and landed in the blood.

Saya: Meaning that the little amount of blood on it, wasn't from the bowling ball?

Hideaki: Yes. On the contrary, the ring _did _slip out beforehand.

Noburu: Why do you say that?

Setsuna: I see where he is going.

Suguru: Roger! I'm scared!

Roger: Bark!

Setsuna: You see, if the ring did fall out beforehand, numerous whacks to the head by a bowling pin wouldn't have exerted enough blood for her ring to be soaked, unlike if a bowling ball had been used.

Takako: S-so… the murderer killed Megumi using the bowling pins? B-but that sounds insane!

Hideaki: I don't disagree with you there.

Hideaki: Someone has to be pretty damn strong to actually kill someone with a bowling pin.

Hideaki: So… what if the murder weapon wasn't the bowling pin?

Takako: EH?!

Tomakazu: Hideaki, you keep blurting out theories than sucking them back in…

Tomakazu: If it isn't the bowling pin, then what could it be?

Hideaki: The ring proves that the murder weapon wasn't the bowling ball due to a lack of blood…

Hideaki: Bowling pins aren't something normal to be killed with, on the other hand…

Noburu: Wait a minute! So, this eliminates the chance for the killer to _not_ be a girl?

Hideaki: Don't think too far yet. We still have yet to decide whether or not the bowling pins are in fact the murder weapon.

Ayako: _If the bowling ball isn't the murder weapon…_

Ayako: _…and neither is the bowling pins…_

Ayako: _I remember… there's only one other thing it could be._

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

user/DontAskThisAccountStinks/media/Untitled_ .html

Ayako: I got it!

* * *

Ayako: Are you referring to the glass pieces that I found in the trash?

Hideaki: When sending me the information for your evidence…

Hideaki: You noted that there was an "unusually large amount."

Miyu: I-I get it!

Miyu: You're thinking that the murder weapon is linked to the weapon used to attack you, right?

Hideaki: Yes.

Hideaki: Which is why we're going to solve the mystery of my attacker, right here, right now!

Ayako: _I think he's just doing it out of spite for himself…_

Ayako: _But this could lead to something useful._

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: The attack on me and the murder of Megumi are **undoubtedly linked.**

Hideaki: We need to figure out how.

Kichiro: Eh? You freaking sure, man?

Kouichi: Let's see…

Kouichi: In the evidence that Ayako sent me…

Kouichi: It says that **the beaker used to attack** Hideaki was broken, and there was blood on the edge.

Kouichi: But if it's broken, **it couldn't have been used twice, right?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of evidence used: Glass Pieces_]

Ayako: You're right that it couldn't have been used twice.

Ayako: So what if it wasn't?

Kouichi: Stop right there.

Ayako: Huh?

Kouichi: No, I see where you're going.

Kouichi: It's just too stupid to consider.

Ayako: _K-Kouichi?_

Kouichi: If Megumi was murdered by a beaker, then it's silly to think that the killer would've brought the pieces all the way back to this trash can just to throw it away.

Miyu: But… couldn't have Megumi been murdered beforehand?

Taisuke: You mean before Hideaki's attack? Absolutely positively not!

Setsuna: If you remember, Megumi was with us when we discovered Hideaki lying on the ground.

Takako: Ah! We aren't going to get anywhere with this!

Noburu: I still think one of those three have to have been the killer.

Tomakazu: So… what do we do now? Lucky guess?

Hideaki: No. We keep talking.

Tomakazu: Why?

Hideaki: We need to find out the truth. The _whole_ truth.

Hideaki: Kouichi, I see where you are going with this.

Hideaki: However, it is completely possible that the glass pieces were thrown away here.

Kouichi: F-f… what?

Hideaki: F-f?

Kouichi: I was going to say "fuck," but I'm trying to cut down on swearing…

Kouichi: Anyways, are you sure?

Hideaki: Let's think for a second on how we think the crime went down.

Hideaki: Then, the truth will surface eventually.

Ayako: _Alright…_

Ayako: _From start to finish… let's crack this case._

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Setsuna: First, Hideaki left the bowling alley **to search for Senji and Takako.**

Kichiro: Then, after a while, Hideaki didn't return, **so we went to look for him.**

Noburu: We found him** lying down, with a knife in his back.**

Hideaki: The knife **had to come from the science room,** and I was knocked out **by a beaker.**

Miyu: A-after that, we started our own investigation to prevent the next murder…

Miyu: **Then Megumi died!**

Taisuke: Soon after, **we started our investigation.**

Hideaki: However, the matter is how Megumi actually was killed.

Rikiya: Megumi was struck with a beaker coming from the **science room…**

Suguru: Then I think she fell down, and her ring dropped in the blood.

Hideaki: At first, there wasn't a lot…

Hideaki: But the killer planted the ring in the trash can to mislead anyone who found it.

Tomakazu: Furthermore, there **isn't a chance for an accomplice either.**

Roger: **Bark! Bark!**

Kouichi: Though, the issue at hand is this.

Kouichi: **Did the killer come back to throw away the glass pieces?**

Kouichi: If the killer didn't, then the killer didn't most likely die from the beaker.

Roger: **Bark! Bark, bark, bark!**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The statement: "…isn't a chance for an accomplice either."_]

Ayako: The killer didn't per say come back to throw away the glass pieces.

Ayako: However, what if there was an accomplice to the case?

Kouichi: A-an accomplice?

Tomakazu: But Monokuma gave us the announcement about the role of an accomplice already.

Noburu: Right, it's useless to be one, since the accomplice doesn't get to graduate.

Hideaki: However, what if one were to plan a joint murder?

Monokuma: Hmm? A joint murder? Upupupu! That's interesting!

Senji: Monokuma, if two people committed two different murders before a trial, would they both graduate?

Monokuma: Well, well, well! An interesting question! I mean, it's sort of a grey area. But I think so, why not? I'm a bear of my word.

Rin: Hmm… so you think the planned victims were you and Megumi?

Hideaki: No. It was me and someone else, at random. Megumi was just there to be there.

Kichiro: We, we're getting there. To the killer! Aren't we?

Hideaki: In addition, if there were a joint murder, than it is completely possible that one of the groups left unattended did it.

Saya: So Senji, Takako, and Kouichi aren't completely 100% guilty now…

Hideaki: If there was a joint murder, I would know the perpetrators.

Hideaki: Ayako, Saya, you two know as well, don't you?

Saya: I see… what you're talking about.

Ayako: _I don't! Who… who could have done it?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: **Who could've committed a joint murder like this?**

Hideaki: Was it **me? Ayako? Saya?**

Saya: Perhaps it was **Kouichi, Senji, and Takako.**

Takako: It could've been **Rikiya** **and Taisuke too!**

Rikiya: I need a beer right now…

Suguru: It couldn't have been **Roger.**

Roger: **Bark!**

Rin: **Suguru and Setsuna?**

Senji: Perhaps it was the group of **Rin, Noburu, and Tomakazu.**

Tomakazu: Last but not least, **Megumi, and… who was with her again?**

Kyouko: Oi! I didn't talk for a while! Yeeha yeeha dinger!

Kyouko: Oh, and heads up football star! **I WAS! **

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The statement: ...Rin, Noburu, and Tomakazu._]

Ayako: Rin… Noburu… Tomakazu… You did it, didn't you?

Rin: Huh?

Noburu: Eh?

Tomakazu: Dinger?!

Hideaki: Tomakazu, Noburu, you two were strangely pushy today.

Saya: On top of that, it was odd that Rin was thinking about Hideaki's attacker. We were clearly head-on for the murder of Megumi.

Kyouko: And Rin knew EXACTLY where to look, didn't she?!

Rin: Eh?

Saya: Eh? Eh what?

Rin: Hmm, I don't think I committed the murder.

Noburu: Neither do I.

Tomakazu: Me neither!

Taisuke: Oh? And why say that?

Rin: Well, first of all, it was obvious that none of us could have been the attacker for Hideaki.

Noburu: Right!

Tomakazu: Hoi!

Rin: So that either means that this wasn't a joint murder, or you got the wrong group.

Hideaki: Are you sure it's impossible?

Hideaki: I think it might be sort of possible.

Hideaki: However, I won't spell it out for you.

Rin: Hmm, okay… So, let's talk about the real issue at hand now –

Hideaki: Ayako will.

Rin: Huh?  
Ayako: Huh? Huh?  
Rin: Please! Ayako is my friend. She knows I didn't commit this crime!

Ayako: I-I was just following your advice, Hideaki.

Ayako: But, Rin was right about the point of your attack. Sorry, Rin…

Rin: No issue!

Saya: Sentimentality can only get in the way of the real task at hand.

Rikiya: I think I know the term that you're talking about… Isn't it a –

Hideaki: Rikiya, you have to let Ayako talk.

Ayako: What?! Why me?

Hideaki: Ayako… think.

Hideaki: I think you know what I'm talking about.

Ayako: But, I don't think Rin is related to this case at all!

Noburu: You guys are making a girl cry!

Tomakazu: What the hell is wrong with you guys?

Hideaki: Ayako, please, just think. If this turns out to be wrong, we'll move on.

Ayako: I don't know what you are talking about!

Ayako: _I don't! I don't!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase eight\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

user/DontAskThisAccountStinks/media/2_ .html?filters[user]=137127321&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

Ayako: I got it!

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: Are you… talking about a sealed room murder?

Hideaki: Think about how many cabinets were in the science room. Someone could hide in them.

Saya: Rin hid in a cabinet, and got your text that Hideaki was injured.

Senji: Then after that, she exited the room while we were all busy looking at Hideaki's body… and slipped into the crowd.

Ayako: …and Noburu and Tomakazu would've known?

Rin: …

Hideaki: So you see it now, Ayako? Your friends have committed this murder.

Saya: Well, at least they didn't consult you about it.

Rin: …

Tomakazu: L-liars!

Noburu: We didn't do shit!

Tomakazu: Rin! Say something!

Noburu: Rin!

Rin: …

Rin: Tch! Well, you got us.

Tomakazu: WHAAAA-

Noburu: -AAAAAAT?

Rin: Yeah. Fuck yeah.

Rin: Ha! Fuck yeah! We're your nasty pasty team of Super Highschool Level Murderers!

Rin: Of course we aren't actually called that, for fucks sake.

Tomakazu: Rin! Why the hell?!

Noburu: We weren't supposed to talk about it!

Rin: Shut up you fucking pieces of tool!

Noburu & Tomakazu: Eep!

Rin: I've been wearing a fucking sweet girl mask in front of all of you for I don't know how long! I'm a bitch! Ooh! Okay? Basking in stagelight!

Rin: This coliseum is boring as shit! As shit!

Kouichi: Well, it looks like the truth came to light.

Miyu: I-is it time?

Monokuma: You mean ballot time?

Monokuma: If that's what you really want!

Hideaki: Wai—

Rin: Wait, you fucking shitheads! How are you patting yourselves on the backs right now? You think you're proud of yourself for fingering us three as the master culprits!

Rin: I'm fucking laughing right now! Hahahaha! That's fake laughing, mind you! But you haven't figured out shit yet!

Miyu: W-what?!

Kichiro: But you three—

Rin: Oh my god! You are all _soooo_ stupid! Except maybe Hideaki, but you are _all_ so STUPID!

Rin: Clap, clap, clap fucking clap!

Rin: Now let's try to find the killer! It's a 1/3 choice! A 33% chance! You gonna guess? Huh? You gonna fucking guess?!

Rin: You aren't done with shit!

Tomakazu: R-Rin!

Noburu: Shut up already!

Rin: Now look carefully, you shitheads! Which one of us did this crime? Hmm? Whaddya fucking think?

Noburu: S-stop!

Tomakazu: Y-you're going too—

Rin: THINK! NOW!

Ayako: _Rin… you were wearing a mask this whole time._

Ayako: _Tomakazu and Noburu… you're still the same, but you committed a murder…_

Ayako: _I don't know… what to think. Stop telling me to think, Rin!_

Rin: Aha! Okay! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

* * *

**/=/=/phase nine\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Rin: Wha, wha? You wanna fucking stop here?!

Rin: **Who's the fucking murderer?!**

Rin: **Y'all think it's me?**

Rin: **Noburu? **What about the shithead **Tomakazu?**

Rin: Think NOW **you shitheads!**

Suguru: Y-you're upsetting my parrot!

Rin: **Fuck your parrot!**

Rin: Think VERY fucking carefully!

Hideaki: Let's go back over the progression of the crime.

Hideaki: Rin was undoubtedly my attacker.

Rin: Ho, ho! I tried to kill my own stepbrother! Surprised? Shocked?!

Hideaki: Then Megumi was killed. It couldn't have been Rin.

Rin: Damn! Ha! You fucking SURE?!

Hideaki: Was it Noburu… or was it Tomakazu…

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The statement: "…who's the fucking murderer?!"_]

Ayako: Noburu… I know it's you.

Noburu: HEEEEEEH?!

Rin: Ding, dong! Ding, dong! YA FUCKIN' GOT IT!

Noburu: N-no! No she didn't!

Rin: HA! SHUT UP, you idiot Paintballer!

Noburu: No! Really! What about the bloody bowling pins then?!

Hideaki: Let's check the fridge. If there's less blood than we remember, the crime is spelled out.

Noburu: N-no! Stop!

Ayako: I… don't want to believe it either Noburu.

Ayako: But Tomakazu didn't know about the ring.

Hideaki: It was an early grave, but Tomakazu set up a shallow one for you. He didn't know about the ring.

Ayako: And Rin was up in the science room, cleaning your mess.

Saya: Well, that means that Noburu had to use a sealed room trick too.

Noburu: No! No, I don't believe it! Stop!

Ayako: Then I'll spell your crime out for you.

Ayako: Right here, right now.

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!**_

Ayako: This case first starts when Hideaki was attacked by Rin. When we went to look for Hideaki, Rin found him first at the third floor with Tomakazu and Noburu. Rin attacked Hideaki, and attempted to kill him, but failed. As a result, Rin hid in the science room, creating a sealed room to prevent anyone from getting inside and discovering who was inside there. As we were all distracted with Hideaki, Rin slipped into the crowd, and acted scared with us. However, before all this, Rin cleaned up the pieces of the fallen beaker and threw it away in the trash. The three culprits weren't at all expecting for Hideaki to have survived that attack, but miraculously, he did. In the infirmary, it was time for Noburu to make his move. He had already taken a beaker from the science room, and he prepared to soak the bowling pins in blood from the fridge to act as a red herring. However, when Noburu attacked Megumi at the bowling alley, she in fact, died. Kyouko was away at this time, splitting up with Megumi. After this, Noburu rolled the bowling ball in some of the blood left behind from Megumi, and planted the next red herring using the blood he collected from the infirmary. Meaning that… Noburu did it.

Ayako: Isn't that right?! Noburu, my friend! Don't lie to me!

* * *

_**Second class trial complete! Live to see another day!**_

The second class trial, was over. That terrible class trial was over. But, it wasn't. There was still Noburu's execution.

But this feeling in the pit of my stomach… it ached. It was worse than fear. It was worse than despair. Betrayal hit me in the head, and I felt like I was dying, falling into a black hole. Sucked in by that feeling I couldn't describe. It felt horrible. My friend – he killed. Rin, she was wearing a mask with me the whole time. I looked at Tomakazu, and the worst thing he did was cover up for the other two. But that was the same thing. It was just as bad. That feeling… we could've died. Tomakazu had the chance to tell us at the class trial… But, he didn't.

I don't think I realized it, but I was crying. I was crying so hard. Hideaki walked over and gave me a tissue, putting a hand on my shoulder. I cried on his shoulder, and as my face was buried deep in Hideaki's sweater, I began to lose it.

"Why?!" I demanded. "Why the hell would you kill Megumi! She didn't do anything! She was so innocent!" I couldn't tell what Noburu and Tomakazu were feeling, my eyes blacked out by sadness, but Noburu didn't answer at all.

"All this sentimental stuff sure is sad," Monokuma said. "But you all can talk about that later!"

"My… execution," Noburu said. I finally looked up from Hideaki, and stared at Monokuma. "My… execution…"

"Yup! Time for your awesome **EXECUTION!**"

* * *

Noburu lay down on the floor of an urban city. Paint was drenched around the city, and I assumed that Noburu had vandalized before. Monokumas resembling citizens finally trotted out, holding baseball bats, pitchforks, and flaming torches, but one Monokuma suggested that they not use those kiddy toys. They said, "let's do something exciting!" The Monokuma's began to jump up and down, hopping with glee. They hung Noburu up on a wooden pole, and left briefly. Coming back, they were holding guns. Guns ready to shoot Noburu down. I mean, they were sort of guns, if you consider paintball guns, guns.

**BOOM! HEADSHOT!**

The Monokumas immediately began to shoot Noburu in the head using their paintball guns. I saw a shotgun, shooting multiple balls of paint at Noburu's face. Someone was sniping him from a great distance. Others were using pistols, or machine guns, and after seconds and seconds of watching Noburu get pelted with paintballs, the Monokuma's finally stopped. It was hard to tell whether or not he was really injured, because the spreading paint was blood red. But it was clear to us that Noburu was lifeless.

"Ooh! That must've hurt!" Monokuma said. "I never liked paintballing. It hurt so damn much, and I'm only a bear!"

I sank to the floor, and began to cry again. Everyone tried to gather around me to comfort me, and I was beginning to appreciate the faces of my new friends, my old ones were standing near Monokuma. Rin was smiling and evil smile, and holding up her fist, pointing at it, as if she were threatening me. Tomakazu had no emotion. It seemed like all the life was taken out of him, and I didn't know what to think about Tomakazu. All I knew was that I was in despair.

"Hideaki," I said. "Why – did you make me find out the truth?"

Everyone immediately shifted their attention to Hideaki. Some angry, some confused, some just sad. But Hideaki smiled, and began to pat my head.

"You see," he started, "I knew it was Rin all along."

"Oho! Is that fucking right?!" interrupted Rin.

Ignoring Rin, Hideaki continued. "But you and Rin, you seemed to be best friends. But I realized that Rin wasn't wearing a real face. It was a fake one, and it would have crushed you. So you needed to find out on your own. You needed to face it as it was." I looked at Hideaki, my eyes still watering. Hideaki was still smiling, and this was a new emotion he conveyed to me. It wasn't his normal reaction of frowning and something filled with grim.

It was comfort. Light, and hope. Hideaki, was the only one able to smile to me, and make me feel better.

I couldn't smile, not at all. But I knew Hideaki helped.

"Besides," Kouichi started. "Rin and Tomakazu are trash to you now!"

"Hunny, I ain't trash!" Rin said.

"Anyways," Kouichi continued, "we're your real friends now."

"Right!" Miyu said. "Even though this trial ended in sadness, I think if we all keep being friends, we can move forward! Smiles on our faces!"

I looked at everyone, and my eyes started to tear up again. Not because of despair. These were tears of happiness. "You guys…"

"Well, you all look like you need to be alone, so I'll just go," Monokuma said.

"Wait."

We all looked at Taisuke, as he got up, and walked towards Monokuma. From his coat pocket, he took out the "ace" card. The "ace" card from before.

"Shall we go and make the trade?"

We all stared at Taisuke and Monokuma. Taisuke was exchanging a look of intimidation. Monokuma was exchanging a look of anger. "What do you want from despair?" Monokuma asked. "Whose side are you on?"

Whose side? Despair? Did Monokuma just treat despair like a person?

"I guess I'm a freelancer," Taisuke said. He waved the "ace" card in Monokuma's face, and threatened to rip it, until Monokuma grabbed his arm, and began to take him out of the room.

And all we could do was watch, as another mystery shrouded over us.

* * *

_**Continued in Chapter 3: (n)everyday life**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#9

Monokuma: Tch! Don't count on friends.

Monokuma: I asked my good friend, Johnny the Panda, to cover for me in a meeting.

Monokuma: Instead, Johnny became so unstable, that he drove off a cliff and killed himself.

Monokuma: *sigh* I'm telling you… friends are dirt useless in this world.


	11. Chapter 3: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER THREE**

_Turn to Channel 104 for Animal Planet_

The first victim was Akira, who died under the hands of Aaron, long gone. Next afterwards, it was Noburu who was the killer, who killed Megumi. Noburu was executed gruesomely, and all we could do was watch. I was heartbroken that a friend like that would kill someone just to leave this school. Not only was that, but a huge amount of tension created as a result of Noburu and Rin's accomplice work. We couldn't trust them. Even _I_ couldn't trust them. Everything was getting shrouded in mystery. Taisuke, and his relationship with Monokuma. No one knew what that was about. Senji's talent and that "desire" that Monokuma was talking about. All of these things led to doubt within each other.

We all gave up on this "bonding" time. Every time we tried to bond, it ended up in a murder of an innocent person. The faces of my four old friends flashed through my mind. It was upsetting to know that this was reality. It wasn't a sick reality show where the dead might come back to life. It was real life. Hideaki spent the night with me, after I asked him to stay. I needed someone to support me. Rin was gone. Her real personality surfaced last time in court. She's a sick, cruel, narcissistic person. As I woke from my sleep, I saw Hideaki sitting down on the table. His legs were brought to his face, and he linked his arms while staring in the distance. He didn't seem to be sleeping – or it didn't even look like he slept at all. Was it because of me? 

"Good morning," I said to Hideaki. "I'm sorry I made you stay here."

"No, it's okay," Hideaki said. "I don't have such big feelings on sleeping anyways." Hideaki got off from the table, and proceeded to exit the room, until Rin barged in with her pigtails hanging behind her head.

"The hell?! You two were getting it on, weren't you?!" Rin demanded. "That's fucking disgusting! In a school on top of that!"

"Of course not!" I said. "This isn't really a school, either!"

"She wanted me to comfort her," said Hideaki. His face hung low as he left the room, and as he closed the door, he said, "that's all there was to it." Rin looked at Hideaki leaving as the door closed, and I could see her face turn red and a smile creep up on her face.

"Ooh, la, la! That man bitch has a thing for this other woman bitch!" Rin exclaimed. "That's fucking sickening! I never would've thought that the emo one would go for you!"

"He's not emo," I sighed. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"What?!" she said. "I can't barge in and insult an ex-friend as soon as dawn breaks? You are _so_ fucking stiff!"

"Well, I'm going out," I said. "I'd prefer it if you didn't follow."

"So I could _freaking FART_ all over your stuff?!" Rin began to dance in a circle, a gracefulness coming from her talent as a ballet dancer. Either way, she was disgusting, and as I hurried out the door, Rin chased after me.

"Yo! Tranny Mozart! Don't fucking blow me off like that!"

"What are you doing, trying to talk to me?" I asked. "You going to kill me?"

"Pshaw!" she laughed. "That's too obvious then! Plus Hideaki just saw me leave the room! He would've known in a snap! Less than a snap! More like the rubbing of two smooth fingers, ooh!" Rin brought her hands to her face, and began to shake her head wildly. "I have such a finger fetish!" 

Tired of Rin, I headed immediately for the cafeteria. Mostly everyone was already awake, and gathered up in one table. It looked like they were having a meeting of some sort, which I didn't know about. I didn't see Taisuke or Tomakazu at the table either, but I wasn't particularly worried. Taisuke didn't seem like the kind of guy who would go down. On the other hand, I didn't care about Tomakazu anymore. He was a part of that murder, and he had to share the blame just as much.

"Yo!" Kyouko called out. "You never answer your texts!"

"I don't text," I sighed, sitting down next to Miyu and Setsuna. "Has anyone seen Taisuke?"

"He called me last night," Rikiya said, with a burp. He took a sip out of his beer and continued. "I think he's still making that 'deal' or whatever with Monokuma. That's what it sounded like."

"I wonder if that ace card was really that important to Monokuma," I said. "It's just a playing card." 

"I can't see anything suspicious about it either," Kouichi said. "But don't let your guard down."

Rin walked up to the table, and immediately jumped on top of it. Her shoe squished Kichiro's pancake, and syrup splashed on her leg. "Yo, yo ,yo!" she said. "How's about a round of applause for this Super Highschool Ballerina?" She used the leg that squished Kichiro's pancake, and twirled on it, completely destroying it. Kichiro began to fume, and he grabbed Rin by the arms.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" he demanded. "You fucking tried to kill Hideaki, and you were completely on board with Megumi's death! Don't you feel anything?!"

"Hmm," Rin said thinking, "Let me think about it… Nope! Ahaha!"

Kichiro stared at Rin with intimidation for a few moments, but Rin was just smiling back at Kichiro, her eyes blood red with sick intentions. Kichiro let Rin go, and he went to the kitchen to get a new pancake. Miyu ran after him, trying to calm him down, as it was clear Kichiro was furious about Rin. We all were; her plans were sickening, and she was a bane to us.

"By the way, you guys!" Rin said. "I'm holding auditions for people who I should kill next, seeing as I failed to kill Hideaki!"

"Never mind that," Hideaki said. "I have a question for you."

"Yes, my dear hot but ugly stepbrother?!" laughed Rin.

"Why did you cover for Noburu? There would be no point of being an accomplice."

"Ahaha!" she cracked. "You misunderstand! I actually had NO fucking clue about Noburu being the killer! He did that shit on his own! HA!"

"Y-you're crazy!" Miyu said, whimpering. "I can't believe y-you would try to attack your own stepbrother!" Hideaki made no reaction to that comment, and instead took another bite out of his pie. Rin on the other hand, began to laugh and dance in a circle. She was oddly blissful, but her talent as a ballet dancer made it completely possible for us to be drawn into her moves.

"Him?" Rin laughed. "Don't bother! I never thought of him as a brother my _whole_ life! He was _so_ annoying! Always jumping around the house and asking me to play with him! What the hell? I was really surprised when I saw Hideaki again in this school, and even more surprised that he became such an emo freakazoid!"

"I'm not emo," Hideaki sighed. "My personality changed for different reasons. You don't know why." As Rin began to laugh some more, we all heard the doors to the cafeteria open. Taisuke was standing near the open door, holding a booklet. He closed the doors and headed straight for the kitchen, without acknowledging any of us or the fact that he disappeared for an entire day. We all stared at Taisuke as he nonchalantly got his food, and sat down in the table next to all of us.

"Do you need something?" Taisuke asked, noticing our stares.

"Where the hell were you?" Kichiro demanded.

"You disappeared for the whole day," Kouichi said. "We didn't know where you went."

"Oh, well, I was closing the deal with Monokuma," Taisuke yawned. "Never mind that you guys, let's just all enjoy the rest of our lives in this academy!"

"Huh?" Miyu asked. "H-how could we possibly enjoy it here?"

"Is he talking about the new areas?" Setsuna asked. "Monokuma said a new area would be opened each time when we survived a class trial."

"Correct," Taisuke said. "I had the pleasure of exploring it myself, and I have to say, I am quite satisfied. This campus seems to be a great accommodation." Taisuke took a bite of his sandwich and opened up his booklet. Senji got up and walked over to Taisuke.

"What is that?" Senji asked. His tone of voice was dark, and threatening. Taisuke looked up at him not intimidated at all.

"What? This old thing?" Taisuke asked. "It's just a booklet Monokuma gave me. It holds some sort of prized possession of something, I don't know!" Taisuke got up, and grabbed the booklet by its top.

"Does this possession perhaps belong to you?" Taisuke asked Senji. "Or does it perhaps belong to someone close to you?" Senji raised his fist, and advanced slowly towards Senji. "Oh my," Taisuke started. "You are beginning to become quite intimidating. This could get ugly, couldn't it?"

"Give that booklet back, now," Senji said.

"Now, now," Taisuke said. "I may be a con artist, but I am quite fair. Let's trade something."

Trade something? I looked at Senji and Taisuke, their identity becoming more and more clouded. Taisuke wasn't just a normal con artist, and whatever Senji was, he wasn't a normal anything. Senji took off his sunglasses, and sighed. Senji then attacked Taisuke, wailing his fists as Taisuke dodged them with ease. The two began to fight it out, the booklet becoming the center of attention.

"Cut it out!" Kichiro said.

"That booklet," Kouichi said. "Why is it so important to them?" Taisuke ran towards Senji, and attempted to punch him, but Senji easily dodged and kicked Taisuke in the chest. Senji grabbed a frying pan from the kitchen, and slammed it against Taisuke's head, easily knocking him out. Taisuke lied face down on the floor, as Senji picked up the booklet and forced it hastily into his pocket. Senji sighed and exited the cafeteria door, him walking to who knows where. Taisuke was left on the floor, his breathing steady, but there was a large mark on his forehead where he was hit. Hideaki sighed and walked over, picking Taisuke up and resting him on his shoulders, which surprised most of us considering Hideaki's size and how heavy Taisuke must be.

"I'm taking him to the infirmary," Hideaki said. "You guys should explore the new areas." Everyone immediately agreed, and as they got up from the cafeteria chairs, Kouichi tapped my shoulder and asked me to come with him.

Kouichi took me to the previously locked corner shop as everyone was looking at the new areas. It was the day after the last class trial, but it's been about two months since we've arrived at Hope's Peak. During that time, I was able to bond with lots of people, but I didn't expect Kouichi to tell me what he was going to tell me now.

"Can I tell you about my family?" Kouichi asked. "It hurts to keep it locked in."

"You mean… when you, uh, you know…"

"Yes," Kouichi said. "That day, I received a secret message from my leaders. They wanted me to return to headquarters. I was on vacation, and I was spending time with my family, so obviously, I didn't want to. But they forced me, I had to come, and well, it went all downhill from there."

"Kouichi, you don't need to tell me," I said. "Doesn't it pain you?"

"It hurts more to keep my feelings locked inside," Kouichi said. "I need to tell someone, and I trusted you with this information." I looked at Kouichi. Instead of his usual smile, it was like when Monokuma revealed the incentive. Kouichi was sad. His face was painted with a frown of despair, and it could only stay that way if Kouichi continued. "Anyways, I got to headquarters, and I demanded to know why the hell they were interrupting my vacation. I was skilled – I could easily kill them without anyone finding out it was me."

"Was it then they told you to kill your family?" I asked. Kouichi nodded.

"My father was involved with a shady branch of the government," Kouichi said. "That's where he met my mom, a competitor of my contract killing group. Then there was my little sister, who was only nine years old." Kouichi began to shed some tears. "I loved my sister so much, but I was so blind back then. I was so involved in my work, my only instinct was to follow the rules of my commanders, and I just killed them. I killed them all." Kouichi dropped to the floor and grabbed at his head.

"My family!" Kouichi said. "My sister! I killed them all!"

I kneeled down next to Kouichi who began to lose his composure. "You said you could kill them. Why didn't you?"

"I told you," Kouichi said through his tears. "I was blinded. My leaders told me if I didn't, I'd be released from my position and hunted down. I think it wasn't until after I killed everyone, that I realized how selfish and stupid I was." Kouichi began to calm down a little, and it seemed his story was ending. Kouichi sniffled, and continued. "I never killed anyone since then," Kouichi said. "I would never kill anyone since then. But my legacy of a contract killer was never erased." Kouichi apologized for forcing me to listen, and thanked me soon after. He felt better after telling his secret. It was like a weight was released from his back.

I was happy to help, but now it was time to explore the areas that opened up. Monokuma would soon force us to anyways. Kouichi got up, and flashed another smile as he left the corner shop.

That reminded me, Hideaki was at the infirmary with Taisuke. After exploring, I'd probably have to check on him unless Taisuke already woke up, which, in that case, would probably mean that he's already exploring.

I headed to the bowling alley, and I noticed the fence blocking access to a path before disappeared. Walking down the path, I saw Kouichi mounted on a tree, exploring the area. I ran down the path, for who knows how long, and eventually I saw a huge area of sports. There was a tennis court, a swimming pool, a baseball field, and access to the football stadium.

"Wow," I said. "How large is this campus?"

I walked into the football stadium and, I saw Tomakazu in the middle of the field. He was looking around the stadium, and I could see him at peace. But it's not like I cared. He was one of the perpetrators for Megumi's death.

"Hey! Lord of bitches!" Rin called out. "You checking out that football slut?!" Tomakazu looked at my direction, and was in shock to see me looking down on him from the stands. Tomakazu walked towards my direction, as if he had to say something to me. But I didn't want to hear it. I left immediately, face forward, without looking back, and I didn't see what Tomakazu had to say.

I took the time to look at the tennis court, the baseball field, and the swimming pool. Rikiya was on the lifeguard chair, looking at the calm reflection in the water. Setsuna was also staring at the water, treading through it with her fingers.

"You miss the water?" I asked Rikiya. Rikiya took out a beer, and took a large gulp.

"Wh-wuh the hell?" Rikiya said slurred. "Who… whose there?"

"Uh, Ayako," I said. "Are you drunk?"

"Fuck you!" Rikiya said. "Of, uh, course I'm not… drunk? I only HAD like a few… dozen beers."

"What?!" 

"I hope I don't DIE!" Rikiya said. "I wanna go back into the oceansuh… I… *burp*, want to sail again! I've always wanted to… I don't know. Ha!" Rikiya burped again, and fell off the lifeguard chair and splashed into the water. He was floating belly up. "Wuh the hell?" he said. "I never went to the ocean!"

I walked over to Setsuna who was looking at Rikiya. "Being drunk is such a sin to me," Setsuna said. "It's just indulgence for the absolute idiotic."

As Setsuna was talking to me, Suguru and Kyouko entered the swimming pool, marveling at its size. Roger followed after her, barking excitedly.

"Swimming!" Suguru said. "I've caught so many different kinds of fish in the ocean!"

"I would swim," Kyouko said, "but my phone isn't waterproof." Roger jumped into the water, swimming around in it. Roger began to tread in the water, and it hopped on top of Rikiya.

"Wuh the hell's this?" Rikiya said. "Fuck you dog…"

"Roger!" Suguru called out. "Get out of the water! We're not done exploring!"

_Bark!_

Suguru sighed and jumped in the water after Roger. "You still have clothes on!" Kyouko called out. She sighed and took out her phone.

"I guess now's a good time as any to check the infirmary," I said to myself.

I walked into the infirmary, and I saw Hideaki laying in one of the hospital beds, reading a booklet that I thought Senji had.

"Where did you get that?" I said. "Senji took it."

"That one was a fake," Hideaki said. "Taisuke woke up, and laughed, presenting me with the real booklet."

"Where's Taisuke now?" I asked. Hideaki pointed into the supply closet, and I could hear knocking coming from inside the closet.

"Ayako?" Taisuke called out. "Be a dear and unlock this door!"

Hideaki walked up to me and handed me the booklet. He nodded at me, signaling to read it, and I sat down next to Hideaki as he took a seat on the bed. I opened the booklet up, and inside was a layout that looked like a brochure. I folded the booklet in thirds, and read the first flap. It talked something about a plan to initiate despair, the third flap read why someone should follow despair, and in the middle of the brochure read the following message in blood: "Hope will never win." There was some text behind all the blood, but due to the obstructive text of the blood, it was impossible for me to find a good grasp of what it was talking about.

"I think the pieces of a puzzle are coming together," Hideaki said. "Monokuma has referred despair to be like a person. Taisuke called himself a freelancer. But what could everyone be talking about?"

Despair… Hope… What was it that these people were referring to?

"By the way," Hideaki said. "The computer room is open. The computers are functional, but there's no way to connect to the internet."

"I see," I said. I knew where to explore next. I thanked Hideaki, and prepared to walk out the door. I would have made it, but there was an unfortunate sound vibrating through my head. It was a definitely despairing sound, but I recognized it as soon as it started to play.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Um, attention you guys! It's been a day after our class trial, so I don't want to put __**too**__ much pressure on you, but please advance to the swimming pool! I have an announcement to make!"_

I looked at Hideaki, who nodded to me.

"It's time to face Monokuma again," Hideaki said. "Let's go." 

"What incentive do you think he has planned for us this time?"

"It might have something to do with this despair business," Hideaki said. "Or it might not have to do with anything at all. Only time will die."

I nodded, and we went to unlock Taisuke from the closet. As soon as we unlocked the closet, the door slowly opened and Taisuke walked out of it, his arms extending behind his neck. Taisuke just walked out of the classrooms like nothing happened.

"Let's go," I said, sighing.

When we arrived at the swimming pool, we saw Monokuma wearing a speedo and jumping up and down on the high diving board. Monokuma was doing a handstand, and a bunch of different flips, before jumping off and making a huge splash. Monokuma surfaced from under the water, and began to swim towards everyone, who was waiting on the pool chairs. Rikiya was still drunk, and he began to get angry.

"Y-yo you stupid bear!" Rikiya yelled. "You lit… you little fucker called us nothing here for what?"

"I don't speak drunk," Monokuma said, as he exited the pool. "By the way, I know it's a little soon for your incentive, but you know, I say let's not wait anymore! Let's just get to it! Feel the burn! Am I right?"

"What do you have in store for us this time?" Senji asked.

"Don't worry! It's awesome!" Monokuma said. He unleashed a crate of tape recorders, each labeled with our name on it. "Here you guys go! It's just a little recording!"

I took my tape recorder, and held it to my ears. To my surprise, I heard the voice of my mother. It sounded like she was leaving messages to me on my phone, or something similar to that.

"Hey, Ayako!" my mother said first. "How are you doing? I hope you like Hope's Peak! It's not so bad is it? Call back!" _Please click the play button for next message._ I pressed the play message, and listened again.

"Um, Ayako? Why don't you ever call? We've been trying to get a hold of you for a while. Are you okay?" _Please click the play button for the next message._ I nervously pressed the play button again, and the voice of my younger brother played.

"Ayako! Mommy is worried! Why don't you ever call us? We miss you! Come home for Christmas next week!" _Please click the play button for the next message._ That's right, I thought to myself. Christmas is next week. I pressed the play button again, worried for what I'd hear.

"Ayako, where are you? Something is happening right now. I see a bunch of protestors marching around our house! I hope you stay safe at Hope's Peak!" _Please click the play button for the next message._ I held my hand over my mouth. Something was happening.

"Please be safe Ayako! We can't get a hold of you, but they're killing people! There are bodies in front of Hope's Peak! What's happening?!" _No new messages. How's that for a dish of despair?_ I dropped my tape recorder and sank to the floor. I looked around the room, and everyone's faces were blue. Even Taisuke seemed to be slightly disturbed, and Rikiya, the drunk, seemed to be out of his drunken state.

"What could be happening to your families?" Monokuma said, laughing, holding his paws to his face. "What could be happening on the outside world? Remember that awesome movie I made? Could that lead to something? Well, I assure you protection from all this."

Monokuma held out a ticket. "This ticket grants you protection for the rest of your life! No matter what happens, we won't let anything happen to you!"

We?

"You can protect your family, your friends, and it'll cause you eternal happiness! **But only after graduation!**" Monokuma began to laugh his insane laugh, and he disappeared, jumping into the water and sinking into nothingness.

We couldn't believe what was happening to us. All of this, all of Monokuma's attempts to get us to kill, what are his goals? What could be the point of all this? I looked around the room, and everyone was regaining their composure.

"Roger!" Suguru said. "I'm scared!"

"This incentive is about our families," Hideaki said worried. Even he seemed to be more fazed than normal.

"I don't want anyone to kill anyone else!" Suguru said. "I can't take it anymore… After Rin, Noburu, and Tomakazu… Someone is going to… Someone is going to die, aren't they?!"

"We can assume our families are safe for now," Setsuna said. "Monokuma promised our family and friends protection."

"So as long as we don't kill anyone," I said, "Monokuma can't kill anyone either." 

"But don't count on that," Hideaki said. "I don't think that will convince anyone who's already planning to kill." We all looked at Hideaki, his face returning to his normal attitude. Hideaki dropped the tape recorder in the water, causing it to break, and Hideaki looked at all of us.

"First," he started, "there was the movie. We all agreed that it was a fake, made up on the spot. However, Aaron killed Akira. Then, there was our deepest desire. Noburu then killed Megumi. Now, we have our families endangered. I can't imagine that won't stir up another murder." 

"Are you saying we shouldn't trust each other?" Kichiro said. "You never trusted any of us!"

Tomakazu was sitting in the lawn chair, clasping his together and placing them near his mouth, deeply concerned. Rin immediately recovered from her buzz, and began to laugh.

"You idiot fuckers! Do you_ really_ care?"

"My whole life is drowned in fame," Saya said. "My family is long gone to me right now."

"How could you be such a diva?" Takako said.

"My family is animals," Suguru said.

"See?" Kichiro said. "We can trust each other now! The rotten ones are gone!"

"Don't be so naïve," Hideaki said, stomping his foot. "You all thought that no one would die after Akira. You are all thinking that no one's going to die now. You guys... I don't want to see anyone surprised. It forces even deeper sadness into all of us."

"You're always sad!" Kichiro said. "You never felt anything! We all saw you after Aaron's execution! You weren't fazed at all! You weren't by Noburu's execution either!"

"None of you really were," Hideaki said.

"Listen up!" Kichiro said. "We aren't going to kill each other!"

"Rin and Tomakazu already tried to kill," Hideaki said. "Two immediate suspects right now." 

"Shut up!" Kichiro said. I felt inclined to help Hideaki, but I didn't know how, because I didn't want to agree with him.

"Are you going to do something?" Hideaki said. "I could beat you if you attacked me."

"Shut up!" Kichiro said. "You aren't helping anyone!"

Hideaki shrugged, and left the swimming pool. "I don't want anyone to die either," Hideaki said. "But being naïve would only kill you in the end. And it wouldn't be anyone's fault." Hideaki left and headed to the dormitory. I ran after him, but I lost sight of Hideaki as he locked himself up in his room.

"But no one would kill each other again," I said to myself. "That's what I want to believe." That's what I wanted to believe. That's what we all wanted to believe.

As nighttime fell, I was lying down in my bed, thinking about Monokuma's incentive. The thing I was most concerned about, was how one person could be doing all of this. He's so powerful to us, and we're just his pawns in a game of chess. None of us were trying to solve anything. It didn't look like anyone from the outside would try to save us either.

I was scared. Scared of the future. I didn't want to face it head on. This school… shouldn't be called Hope's Peak.

I walked into the cafeteria early next morning, and I woke up to see Senji and Taisuke fighting again.

"Where's the real brochure?!" Senji demanded.

"Why is it so important to you, may I ask?" Taisuke said, dodging Senji's attacks. "I do believe it's just a rather boring statement about hope, isn't it? I could cut myself and write hope on a piece of paper for you!"

"It's my only lead!" Senji said. "Give it back!"

"You're lead to what?" Taisuke asked. "Your lead to happiness?" 

"No!"

"Your lead to ignorance?" 

"Where is it?!"

I could only watch, stunned as the scene played out in front of me. When reality bit me in the face, I ran towards Senji and Taisuke.

"Stop fighting!" I said, but I was swatted away by Senji, with a large fist, and I fell into a world of darkness.

I woke up on the infirmary bed, and Hideaki was looking over me with Senji to his right.

"Are you awake?" Hideaki asked. I nodded, and Hideaki nodded back to me. "Can you walk?" I nodded again, and Hideaki got off the bed, and pointed at the door.

"We need to show you something," Hideaki said. He left through the door, and Senji asked me to stay.

"I'm sorry for knocking you out," Senji said. "It was an accident."

"It's no problem," I said. "But was that brochure really important to you?"

"You saw it?" I nodded, and Senji sighed. "I'll be honest," Senji continued. "I do not remember anything about my past. I entered this school, and my entire life before me is a blur."

"What?!" 

"So that note is the only lead I have of my past life. It was in my suitcase, and I had no idea what it meant."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know." Senji shook his head, telling me not to worry, and he continued to speak again.

"We got sidetracked," Senji said. "There's something Hideaki and I discovered."

"What do you mean? I asked. Senji looked at the floor, and took off his sunglasses. He was frowning, and shaking his head, and my eyes widened.

I ran out of the door, with Senji hurrying after me, and I saw Hideaki waiting outside my door. "Are you ready?" Hideaki said. I nodded, and Hideaki and Senji led me to the swimming pool. In the pool of blood, I was horrified to see what I just saw.

Roger got out of the pool, and rubbed up against my leg. He was panting, and his tail was wagging, and when I looked down at him, his teeth were stained with blood. The entire swimming pool was dark red, and a body floated on top of it.

"_Attention! A corpse has been found! We're going to start a class trial pretty soon, so please investigate to the best of your abilities!"_

_**Continued in Chapter 3: Investigation.**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#10

Monokuma: Have you ever been to an opera before?  
Monokuma: I never knew the point of those.

Monokuma: It's just a lady in a Viking suit and huge cleavage singing a song that no one in hell could understand.

Monokuma: I swore to myself I'd never see another opera. Again.


	12. Chapter 3: Investigation

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! It's the Monokuma Recap Board!

Monokuma: I wonder how it feels to see a dog covered in blood.

Monokuma: Because Roger is the murderer!

Monokuma: No, I could never kill a cute puppy! He's not _actually_ the murderer! Heh, heh?

* * *

The pool swirled red and as the blood spread to the two ends of the room, I was horrified to see our cute pet Roger, covered in blood. His teeth were bloody, and his tongue had an even darker red shade to it. He was rubbing up against my leg, spreading some more blood against it, and his tail was wagging. It was like he liked the taste of blood. It was like he was satisfied he ended someone's life. I looked at the pool, gulped, and took a look at the body. His hair was stained red, having been sunk down into the bloody water, and he ended up face down into the water. My hand shook as I reached out for the body, and flipped it over.

Tomakazu's dead body was floating right in front of me.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Attention! A corpse has been found! We're going to start a class trial pretty soon, so please investigate to the best of your abilities!"_

Monokuma's sick voice left a mark on us again. Another bites the dust at Hope's Peak Academy, and he was a long friend of mine. I wasn't sure whether I should feel sad or not. I was a mixed bag of confused emotions that didn't know how to react. Tomakazu – a long childhood friend of mine was floating in this bloody water, and I didn't even think to feel sad. That was awful of me, and I knew that he was still my friend. I didn't know it before, and I let my emotions get to me. He was an accomplice, but he was still one of the best memories I ever had.

But now he was dead.

Kyouko ran into the swimming pool with Setsuna, and she began to scream. Setsuna took out a bible, fished out Tomakazu's body, and kissed his forehead using her two fingers. As Setsuna did her ritual, I waited for everyone else to return. Sooner or later, everyone began to pile in. Kouichi sank to the floor. Taisuke didn't react normally at all. Rin began to laugh as she jumped into the bloody water. Miyu fainted. One by one, my classmates piled into the swimming pool, freaking out over the lifeless body of Tomakazu.

Suguru walked in last, and as she screamed, she noticed Roger covered in blood.

"Roger!" Suguru screamed, as she ran to his side. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She frantically searched his body for cuts or wounds, as Saya began to laugh. "It's not funny!" Suguru screamed. "Roger could have been hurt! How can you laugh at the misfortune of a dog?!"

"No!" Saya said, still laughing. "It's just that this attempt of acting is so depressing!" Saya wiped a tear out of her left eye, and pointed at Suguru. "I give you, our murderer of Tomakazu."

"What?" Suguru said nervously. "N-no! I wouldn't!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Taisuke said, raising his trademark finger. "Everyone, look at Roger's teeth! Siberian Huskies are known to be quite the wild animals! It's easy for a large one like Roger to just maul someone like Tomakazu, even if he wasn't weary of it!"

Roger began to whimper as everyone surrounded Suguru and Roger. Suguru held Roger tight, placing a towel on his body, and Suguru began to scream. "I didn't do it!" she said. "Don't just jump to conclusions like that!"

"She's right," Hideaki said.

"What did you say?" Saya asked. "It's not obvious? Roger is the only one who'd possibly listen to Suguru's command to kill!"

"Yes, but we thought rather similar things in the second case, didn't we?" Hideaki said. "We thought it was Kouichi, Takako, or Senji at first, due to their incentive provided by Monokuma. However, that wasn't the case."

"Are you saying she isn't the murderer?" Kouichi asked.

"I'm not saying anything at all," Hideaki said. "Just don't jump to conclusions until we have done a full investigation."

"How wise!" Monokuma said, coming in from behind us. He was standing by the fence, holding the third Monokuma File. "Here it is folks! The one and only Monokuma File for the death of Tomakazu Ohtsoka! Isn't it sort of predictable that one of the perpetrators of last case were killed?"

"Ahaha!" Rin said, laughing insanely. "I'm just surprised it wasn't me though! I was the puppetmaster of that entire death trap!"

"That's true," Monokuma said. "I wonder what the murderer was thinking!"

"Either way," Senji said, "we must take a look at that Monokuma File right away."

"Sure, sure," Monokuma said. "Here you go."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Monokuma File #3: The third Monokuma File. Reads: Victim: Tomakazu Ohtsoka | Time of Death: 2:13 AM | Cause of death was a loss of blood after being mauled by the class pet, Roger.

"This seems like such a cut and run case," I said. "Someone was able to command Roger to kill Tomakazu, isn't that right?"

"Right on the money!" said Monokuma. "Though, I probably wasn't supposed to say that. Anyways, I'm going to leave now. Hope you guys investigate well! If everyone died early, it'll be sort of a bummer, you know? Less time for crafty executions." Monokuma dived into the bloody water, disappearing from our sight.

"Anyways!" Rin said. "I'm going to investigate alone! Ahaha!"

Hideaki sighed, and grabbed at his stomach, limping to the gate.

"You okay?" I asked.

"It's the wound I got from when Rin attacked me," Hideaki said. "It's acting up again."

"Maybe you shouldn't investigate then," Senji offered. "It's not wise to move around like that when a stab wound is acting up." Hideaki shook his head, and limped out of the pool and to the classrooms. I wasn't sure what he was going to do there, since it was probably smartest to take a look at this area first. I walked around the pool, and took note of the state of Roger.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Roger: The class pet, and the murder weapon, so to speak. His entire body is covered in blood, but his teeth were filled with it, having attacked Tomakazu.

"I can't believe Roger was used as a weapon," Suguru whimpered. "Monokuma! Monokuma! Monokuma! Monokuma! Mono—"

"What? What? What the hell do you want?!" Monokuma said, rising from the water. He was all red from the blood in the pool, and Suguru held Roger tight as Monokuma advanced closer. "I don't have time to answer questions! My first answer, no, I do not particularly like honey!"

"No," Suguru said, "but Roger is the Super Highschool Level Pet, right?"

"What about it?" Monokuma asked.

"Is Roger going to be executed with the killer?"

"No," Monokuma said. "I'll let Roger live in case anyone wants to use him again."

"Eh?! Use him?"

"Though it beats me why the killer didn't clean Roger up. I assure you the killer used Roger as a murder tool. I saw the whole thing anyways."

Suguru looked at Roger, who began to growl at Monokuma. Suguru stopped Roger from attacking, and I took note of what Monokuma said.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Monokuma's Testimony: Seeing the whole murder unfold, he witnessed the killer use Roger as a murder weapon and noted that the killer didn't bother to clean Roger.

Suguru hugged Roger once more, and took out a clean towel from the supply closet to clean Roger up. As she advanced towards Roger, I noticed something on the towel. A green shade was on the towel, and it began to drip a little onto the floor.

"Suguru, don't touch that towel!" I said, calling out for her.

"Why?" Suguru asked. "I'm only using it to clean Roger!"

"It has chloroform on it!" Suguru immediately yelped and dropped the towel on the floor. I ran over, and took a pouch and put the towel inside. This towel was probably very important to the case at hand, and it would be valuable evidence for the trial.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

4: Towel: Found in the supply closet, and has traces of chloroform.

"Do you think I'm the killer?" Suguru asked me as I put the towel away. I diverted my attention from Suguru before giving my answer.

"I don't really know what to think," I said. "Roger doesn't listen to anyone but you, though."

"I know that!" Suguru said. "But I didn't do it! You have to believe me!"

Saya walked over listening to the commotion, and kneeled beside Suguru. "Want to put that to a test?" Saya asked. Suguru tilted her head in confusion, and Saya got up, swatting at her dress to clean it from dirt. She walked over to the fence, and whistled at Roger. Roger's attention was placed on Saya, but there was no sudden reaction. All Roger did was stare at Saya as she called for Roger. Saya walked back to the three of us, and then she tapped at my shoulder. She pointed at the fence, and beckoned me to walk over there and call for Roger. I did as told, but again, there was no sudden reaction. As I walked back, Saya spoke again.

"Now Suguru, you go to the fence." Suguru got up, claiming she doesn't know how this would change anything, and without Suguru even calling Roger, he followed Suguru loyally and kept beside Suguru. Suguru's eyes widened, realizing what Saya was going for.

"Now, sit!" Saya said, to the standing Roger. "Sit on the floor!" Roger disobeyed, and only looked at Suguru as her eyes widened a little further. Saya tugged on my shirt, and nodded.

"Sit!" I said. "Roger, sit down!" Roger didn't sit, and only looked at Suguru. Saya walked over to Suguru, and pointed at Roger. She nodded again, and Suguru gulped her fear down.

"Sit," Suguru said weakly. Roger immediately obeyed, and wagged his tail as Suguru petted Roger, staring at Saya, useless against her intimidation.

"Now it's clear that Roger will only listen to Suguru," Saya said. "Therefore, it's hard to say that Roger would kill Tomakazu. In fact, the two seemed rather friendly with each other. So the only way that Tomakazu could have been killed, is if he listened to the command of Suguru, who is standing over there, claiming she had nothing to do with the murder."

"But I didn't!" Suguru claimed. "I'm sure of it!"

Saya bowed, and left the pool, leaving Suguru and I to eat her dust. In any case, this little test was probably important.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

5: Test of Loyalty: Roger only listens to the word of Suguru, as shown by a test done by Saya and I.

As Suguru shivered with Roger close in her arms, I decided to investigate elsewhere. There was somewhere else I needed to go. Hideaki left to the school classroom building, meaning that if Hideaki went there, something important probably awaited. I looked around as everyone continued to remain at the pool, but as I left, Senji called out for me.

"Are you heading out to investigate?" Senji asked. I nodded, and asked if he would like to join. Senji nodded, and followed me to the classroom housing building. I needed to meet up with Hideaki there. No matter what, I had to crack the case of Tomakazu's murder. He helped kill Megumi, sure. But I decided right then and there, that he was still my friend, and that I would still avenge his death. I would do it, and send the murderer to its doom!  
_

_**Location: Classroom Housing Building First Floor | Time: 8:18 AM | Chapter Three**_

Looking around to see if there were any traces of Hideaki, I didn't find any. I knew however, that Suguru set up Roger's room in one of the classrooms on this floor.

"Roger sleeps usually on one of these rooms," I said. "There might be a clue there."

"Which classroom does he sleep in?" Senji asked. I looked around, and there were four classrooms down a hallway. Walking into it, I found Roger's bedroom along the right side of the classrooms. Classroom 1-C, and classroom 1-D. Looking into 1-C, I saw Roger's doggy bed in the corner of the room. The desks were cleared so that Roger could walk around, and on the chalkboard was the message: "Good morning, Roger!"

"It doesn't look like anything is here," Senji said. "Perhaps we should look elsewhere?"

"Wait, look," I said to Senji, looking at one of the desks in the corner of the room. On the desk, was a small stain of dry blood.

"I wonder what that's doing there," I said, unsure of why there would be a bloodstain in Roger's room.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Bloodstain: A bloodstain was found on one of the desks in Roger's bedroom.

"Is it related to the case, however?" Senji asked. "Perhaps it was an old injury that Roger or Suguru sustained."

"That's possible," I said. "But it looks fairly recent." Senji nodded, and I touched the dry bloodstain with my fingers. None of it came off, but it did look like it was made in the last week or so.

"Either way, we should look elsewhere," I said.

"Agreed," Senji said. "I'm afraid we have run out of clues here."

"We should split up," I said. "I'm looking for Hideaki, since he'd probably find something in the school if he came here first."

Senji nodded. "Shall I check the second floor?"

"I'll check the third then," I said.

Whatever Hideaki was doing here, it had better be good.

* * *

_**Location: Classroom Housing Building Third Floor | Time: 8:31 AM | Chapter Three**_

Calling out for Hideaki, I wandered around the third floor like a ditz, not knowing where to check. I checked all the classrooms first, and then I checked the science room. I remembered that the computer room had opened up on the third floor, so I decided to check there next.

Walking into the electronics room, I could see Hideaki, sitting against the wall, grabbing at his stomach. He seemed to be in great pain, his eyes bulging and his breathing heavy. I ran over to his side, and put my hand on his forehead. His head was burning like a thousand suns, and I ran Hideaki down to the infirmary. Texting Senji to come down here and Kouichi for medical help, I stared at Hideaki, who couldn't bear to speak. Senji arrived first, and hurried over to my side.

"What happened to Hideaki?" he asked.

"I-I don't know," I stammered. "I found him in the computer room, and he was sitting against the wall grabbing his stomach. I think something is wrong with his wound."

Hideaki began to sweat, and his breathing became even more abnormal. His breathing turned into lapses of breaths, and as Senji carefully unwrapped his bandages, I grabbed Hideaki's hand as he squeezed mine.

Kouichi came in with a hurry, and examined Hideaki's wound.

"It looks like it's turning infected," Kouichi said. "But we don't have any medicine –"

"Yoink!" Monokuma said, popping up behind Kouichi.

"Eek! Stop doing that!" Kouichi said. "What are you doing here?!"

"I would hate to see someone die by natural causes," Monokuma said. "So I developed a super strong, 'Monokuma Medicine!' One dose a day, and pains and infections like these will disappear in a minute! It's really cool, but it's also really dangerous, so even more than one pill could probably kill you by burning your insides out."

"But will it kill him now?" I said, not letting Monokuma near Hideaki.

"Of course not, you negative Nancy!" Monokuma said. "I told you! Two doses will kill! Not one!" I permitted Monokuma to drop the pill into Hideaki's open mouth. Hideaki swallowed, and after a few seconds, his breathing steadied, and his wound immediately began to close up.

"What the hell is this?" Kouichi said. "How is it doing this?"

"I assure you nothing is bugged about it," Monokuma said. "There's nothing like a trap device or something that'll kill you in thirty days. It's just really strong medicine."

"Can we trust your word?" Senji asked, sounding as worried as the rest of us.

"A bear never lies!" Monokuma said. Monokuma waved goodbye, and jumped into the medicine cabinet, disappearing. As Hideaki stared at us, he put his hand above his head.

"Sorry," he said. "I guess I should've rested."

"You should rest some more," Senji said. "We don't really know what that medicine is." Hideaki nodded, and asked me to come to his side.

"What is it?" I said, kneeling down.

"Go to the computer room," he said. "Figure out things there." As he said that, he closed his eyes, and immediately went to sleep.

"The computer room?" I said. "What would we do there?"

"It looks like something important is up there," Kouichi said. "We should probably check."

"I'm just worried about what we'll find there," Senji said. As the two walked out of the room as fast as they could say their words, I hurried after them and headed to the third floor. If Hideaki found something in the computer room, I knew it wasn't useless information. It'll probably be the game change of this trial, our trump card.

It always has been.

* * *

_**Location: Computer Room | Time: 8:53 AM | Chapter Three**_

"Um," I said. "What is this?"

We looked at the one computer in the middle of the room. It was turned on, and there was a picture of Monokuma wearing a bikini as a bunch of other woman models cradled him. I didn't know how to react to the background of the desktop, but only one word came into my mind. Gross.

Kouichi started to look around the desktop, and attempted to open the internet. A message popped up, explaining that the computer wasn't connected to the internet at all. Kouichi opened up a list of accessible internet lists, and only one came up: "Hope's Peak Boarding School Wi-Fi."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Monokuma said, popping up behind us. "What are you doing?!"

"I was going to access the internet," Kouichi said.

"Hell no!" Monokuma said angrily. "You think I'd let you access the thing that'll give you bastards a lead about this school? Think again sister!"

"I'm a guy though," Kouichi said whimpering, as Monokuma closed the internet.

"No touchie!" Monokuma said. "I'll know if you do!" Monokuma left immediately after that, and Kouichi looked at the floor, depressed at Monokuma's words.

"Either way," Kouichi said, "someone was using it earlier yesterday."

"Huh? Yesterday?"

"That was when Tomakazu was murdered, at night," Senji observed. "What could it have been used for though?"

"Beats me," Kouichi said. "I wrote down the number of programs that the computer contained. I don't think there was much that resembled anything to this case.

I looked at the computer. If it was used yesterday, could it have anything to do with this case? Is this what Hideaki wanted to show me?

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

7: PC Computer: Was used last night at an unknown time.

8: List of Programs: A list of programs that the computer has installed. The list: Solitaire, Pinball, Internet Browser, Recycle Bin, Image Editor, DVD Player, Sound Editor, Printer Software, Word Processor, Slideshow Maker

"I wonder what relevance this has to the case," I said, "if any."

"We can only hope," Senji said, "that this computer possesses something important to this case."

I decided that there was nothing else to investigate. I saw everything that I could, as this was an incredibly simple sounding case. Someone took Roger from his room, found Tomakazu at the swimming pool, and then killed him using Roger. There were two questions that I still had. One, what Tomakazu was doing at the swimming pool at night. Two, how the murderer got Roger to attack and kill Tomakazu. It was an oddball of questions.

As I bid farewell to the other two, I decided to go down the list and try to answer my questions. If I could find out why Tomakazu went to the pool, and how the murderer even got Roger to kill, this case probably would be finished and answered right away. First, I went to Tomakazu's dorm.

* * *

_**Location: Tomakazu's Dorm Room | Time: 9:09 AM | Chapter Three**_

Looking around in his room, posters were hung up around the walls, and a football signed by his favorite player was resting on top of a drawer. Clothes were scattered around the floor, and his trash can was filled to the top with wrappers of snacks and cans of soda. His room, in short, was a filthy mess, and that's how I knew Tomakazu best. I looked around the room, searching his bathroom, looking under his bed, and checking out the trash can.

I emptied the trash can and dumped all its contents onto the floor, and to my surprise, a slip of paper slid out of the bin, and landed on my foot.

"Hello, what's this?" I said to myself, picking it up and reading the contents of this note.

"_Hello,"_ the note started. This handwriting seemed awfully strange, and there was a reason why. _"I apologize for the way I treated you last night after discovering your role as an accomplice. That's not obviously an easy thing to swallow."_ Tell me about it, I thought. _"However, I'd like to apologize in person. I do not want you to despair anymore. Please meet me at the pool at 2:00 AM tonight. Regards, Ayako."_ That's nice… Huh?! Ayako?

I realized this handwriting was my own, but how the hell? I don't remember writing this! I didn't write this at all! Yet, it was in my own handwriting, and at the bottom of the note, it had my name on it. My signature, Ayako. How the heck could my handwriting be on this note?!

Confused, I put the note back into the trash can, and left the dorm room in a hurry. I didn't want to know what that was. I didn't want to know how it happened. I just wanted to get out.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

9: Note: A note addressed to Tomakazu. It's my own handwriting and signature, but I don't remember writing anything like this.

* * *

_**Location: Swimming Pool | Time: 9:21 AM | Chapter Three**_

Getting away from the note I saw back at the classroom, I sighed and found Suguru in the same position as I left, still holding Roger close to her. Roger was sleeping, but it looked like Suguru had cleaned him completely. Suguru was rocking back and forth, biting her lip, and trembling nervously.

"I don't want to die," she murmured. "E-everyone thinks I did it!"

I sat down next to her, as she nervously turned towards me.

"You think I did it too, right?" she said. "Don't lie."

I shook my head. "I did investigation," I said. "While it all points to you, the way you're acting right now, and a couple of other supporting pieces of evidence, I don't think you did it." Suguru's frown turned right upside down, into a huge grin, and she stood up.

"Right! I'll help you then!"

"What?"

"Your investigation!" she said, tipping her safari hat. "I'll assist you with Roger!"

"I already finished that," I said, sighing. Suguru sat back down, disappointed, and Roger sat back down on her leg, after having been woken up by her.

"By the way," I asked, "is Roger okay?"

"Actually," Suguru said, "I took a look inside his mouth, and for some reason, a tooth is missing."

"A tooth?" I asked.

"Yeah. I thought it came out when he attacked Tomakazu, but I searched Tomakazu's wound where he was bitten, and there wasn't a tooth anywhere. There was just a bite mark."

I looked at Roger, who was licking Suguru's face. Roger really loved Suguru, I thought.

I admit, when I said I don't suspect Suguru, that was a total lie. Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew that somehow, Suguru didn't commit the crime. Her reaction to everything and everyone were too good. She wasn't the Super Highschool Actress, for god's sake. She couldn't pull off a performance like that anyways.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Alright, you guys are taking too long again. So please meet up at the gazebo, where we will start our class trial! This one is going to be good!"_

The announcement ended, and Suguru took Roger and left the pool. She waved her hand, telling me to follow, and I looked at Tomakazu's body again. I investigated his bite wound – it was a normal bite wound. There wasn't a sign of a missing tooth anywhere. So where did Roger lose that tooth? Was it lost before? No, if it were lost before, Suguru would have noticed and told me that it didn't matter to this case. Either way, the fact that Roger lost a tooth was probably important to the case.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

10: Missing Tooth: Roger has a missing tooth, yet there was no sign of it anywhere at the scene of the crime.

I arrived at the gazebo with Suguru, and everyone was waiting for us.

"Why are you always last?" Saya said sighing. Hideaki grabbed at his chest, apparently confused at the effects of the medicine. Monokuma arrived behind us, and took a bow.

"This is going to be a great class trial!" Monokuma said. "I can feel it!"

As he pulled down the lever attached to the gazebo, the platform lowered underground. Lower and lower we went, heading down to where the killer would meet me. The person that will send it to justice. I will avenge Tomakazu, and I will solve this case with the rest of my friends.

Someone among us was a clear cut traitor. Simple as that. They are keeping the chain of murders going, and the quicker we pointed out the culprit, the faster it would take to end this crisis. Down and down we went, entering the courtroom designed as an icy environment, with snow and a large igloo in the corner.

It was time to start…

The class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter 3: Class Trial**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE==**

#11

Monokuma: Yeehaw! Yeehaw!

Monokuma: I'm a donkey.

Monokuma: Meow! Meow!

Monokuma: Now I'm a cat.

Monokuma: Mono! Mono!  
Monokuma: Now, I'm a Monokuma!

Monokuma: I don't make noises like, "Mono, Mono," though. It sounds so silly that way.


	13. Chapter 3: Class Trial

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! It's the Monokuma recap board again!

Monokuma: Tomakazu was unfortunately killed by our cute mascot Roger!

Monokuma: How unique, and how clever!

Monokuma: Because the only possibility for a killer could be Suguru, right?

Monokuma: Upupupu!

* * *

==Tomakazu Ohtsoka's been murdered!==The pet dog killed Tomakazu?==He only listens to Suguru though!==

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **third** class trial! You all know the drill.

Monokuma: Finger the **TRUE** villain, and the villain will be **PUNISHED**, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the **WRONG** villain, and instead, **YOU GUYS** will be **PUNISHED**, leaving your deceiver to leave, **FREE & CLEAR!**

Monokuma: You guys can handle this, right?

Rin: Haha! Isn't the murderer OBVIOUS though?

Monokuma: Huh! Déjà vu!

Rin: Roger only listens to Suguru's demands! Who else could it fucking be?!

Kichiro: I hate to say it, but I think this deranged bitch might be right.

Rin: Who is a deranged bitch?!

Kichiro: You.

Rin: I'll tear your insides!

Senji: Either way, we must get to the bottom of this case right away.

Hideaki: Let's first discuss the matter of how Tomakazu was killed.

Rikiya: But we know that already. He was mauled by Roger, wasn't he?

Hideaki: You never know when a conversation like this can lead to something else.

Suguru: I didn't do it! You guys have to trust me!

Ayako: _All ties point to Suguru…_

Ayako: _But did she really do it? And if she didn't, how did the real killer get Roger to kill Tomakazu?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: In the matter of Tomakazu's death…

Hideaki: We know that **Roger killed Tomakazu.**

Saya: However, Roger only listens to one person and one person only.

Saya: This person is **Suguru.**

Rikiya: So who else could have killed Tomakazu?

Kouichi: We know one thing though. **He was murdered at the pool, right?**

Rin: So who the fuck did it?! Only Suguru could have! Ayayaya!

Suguru: But I didn't!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Bloodstain_]

Ayako: While it is probably true that Roger killed Tomakazu…

Ayako: Is it possible we got the scene of the crime wrong?

Saya: What was that? You think the crime was somewhere else other than the pool

Ayako: There's another place where Tomakazu could have been murdered.

Ayako: That place is Roger's own bedroom.

Kouichi: His own bedroom?

Kyouko: Why would Tomakazu go there?

Ayako: I don't know.

Ayako: But if we got the scene of the crime wrong, it might change this case.

Taisuke: No, it wouldn't do that.

Ayako: Why not?

Taisuke: Roger is an extremely tamed pet, even for a Siberian Husky.

Taisuke: Only Suguru's voice could have triggered such a reaction!

Senji: However, the only person who could even possibly make Roger kill…

Senji: Is Suguru.

Ayako: What?

Suguru: No! I couldn't!

Setsuna: It appears we have reached an end to the discussion.

Monokuma: Woah! That was fast!

Hideaki: It was fast… which is why I'm not sure we reached the correct conclusion.

Setsuna: What could be so wrong about it?

Hideaki: I just don't want to make any reckless mistakes.

Miyu: B-but, what could we talk about next?

Takako: Are you saying we got something wrong?

Hideaki: Let's just do one final review. Something might come up from it.

Ayako: _It's hard to believe Suguru would kill someone._

Ayako: _But it was hard to believe before. I wonder what Hideaki is thinking._

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!  
**

Suguru: I really didn't do it you guys! Please believe me!

Saya: Let's go over what we believe happened.

Kyouko: So, Tomakazu for some reason **went into the pool.**

Hideaki: **Why do you think he even went there in the first place?**

Setsuna: Is that really important?

Hideaki: In any case, our current suspect, Suguru, is also there.

Taisuke: In our current reasoning, we believe **Suguru commanded Roger to kill Tomakazu.**

Saya: And is that the end of this case?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Note_]

Ayako: There's something interesting I'd like to show you guys.

Setsuna: Hmm?

Ayako: If you take a look at this note…

Ayako: It shows rather fancy handwriting, and has my name signed under it.

Miyu: E-eh?! Your name?!

Rin: So this crazy bitch killed Tomakazu, huh?! Ya, loco, ya! Ahahaha!

Hideaki: No, just because it has Ayako's name under it doesn't mean she's the killer.

Setsuna: Why would that be?

Hideaki: First of all, she presented it. It's hard to imagine she'd present a piece of evidence that will end up in suicide for her.

Senji: Also, it still doesn't change the fact that Suguru is the only person who could've possibly commanded Roger to do anything.

Hideaki: However, I think we're on the right track.

Hideaki: If we keep pursuing the creation of this note…

Taisuke: You believe it might lead to another killer?

Hideaki: Yes.

Hideaki: Let's see here… so the note right now has Ayako's name and handwriting.

Taisuke: So the only person who could've wrote the note is Ayako.

Takako: Could Ayako be an accomplice?

Suguru: I didn't do it though!

Senji: What benefits would an accomplice have in this case?

Hideaki: Is there any way that someone could have copied Ayako's handwriting?

Kyouko: Why would someone copy Ayako's handwriting though?

Ayako: _That's what we need to find out._

Ayako: _I think maybe… that this would lead to the reason why Tomakazu went to the pool, right?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Takako: Why would anyone **copy Ayako's handwriting?**

Saya: Never mind that. Did anyone **copy Ayako's handwriting?**

Hideaki: I think it's possible.

Kichiro: It's possible that Ayako wrote it too.

Kyouko: She has a motive too!

Hideaki: We're not talking about that right now. We're discussing a different thing.

Miyu: Either way… **there's no reason that Tomakazu would want to go to the pool.** So why would he?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Note_]

Ayako: No, there is a reason he would've wanted to see me.

Rin: Why would that be? Because he wanted a blowjob?!

Ayako: Uh, no.

Hideaki: I think Tomakazu felt guilty.

Rin: About cheating on Ayako and giving ME a blowjob?!

Takako: You don't even have a –

Hideaki: Okay, let's not talk about that.

Hideaki: He felt guilty about hurting Ayako.

Ayako: Y-yeah…

Senji: The note says that Ayako would like to apologize for her actions…

Taisuke: So Tomakazu saw this as a good opportunity to clear the air between the two of them?

Hideaki: Yes, and that's the mystery of why Tomakazu went to the pool.

Setsuna: However, doesn't this point to Suguru being the murderer even more?

Suguru: W-what?

Setsuna: First off, only the person who wrote the note would be able to see it.

Setsuna: Meaning that Suguru simply forged Ayako's handwriting…

Setsuna: …and then waited for Tomakazu. Then, Roger killed him.

Suguru: No! You're lying!

Ayako: Is there anything else that we could take a lead on?

Senji: It looks like… Suguru really is the killer.

Suguru: No! I'm not!

Hideaki: Hold on.

Suguru: What? Hideaki! Help!

Hideaki: Roger.

Bark: Bark!

Hideaki: Speak.

Saya: What are you doing?

Hideaki: Speak, Roger.

Roger: Bark!

Ayako: _What the hell? Is Hideaki trying to get Roger to testify?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Roger: Bark! Bark, bark!

Hideaki: Roger, speak.

Roger: Bark, bark!

Hideaki: Bark?

Saya: Hideaki, what are you planning to pull off?

Hideaki: Take a close look.

Roger: **Bark, bark, bark!**

Setsuna: Stop this futile testimony already. What are you planning to accomplish?

Roger: **Bark!**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Missing Tooth_]

Ayako: Roger, where's your tooth?

Roger: Bark!

Setsuna: What is this? What does it matter if there is a tooth or not?

Hideaki: Roger has just lost a tooth during the time of the murder.

Hideaki: Take a look at the condition of Tomakazu's body.

Hideaki: There's no sign of any missing teeth at all.

Setsuna: So?

Hideaki: If you remember the bloodstain found back at Roger's room…

Hideaki: If we could find a tooth there, then that could lead to the murderer.

Setsuna: What would a tooth prove? Nothing.

Hideaki: Wrong.

Hideaki: If we assume the bloodstain was a part of an attack…

Hideaki: …anyone here who was possibly attacked is a possible perpetrator.

Ayako: Are you saying we should end the trial for now?

Rikiya: No need.

Ayako: Huh?

Rikiya: If there truly was someone who was attacked by Roger…

Rikiya: …then that would mean all we need to do is check everyone's bodies.

Ayako: Eww! No!

Hideaki: Then check the arms and legs. I don't think anyone would've been nude when taming Roger.

[*after moments of searching bodies*]

Taisuke: Well, well, Setsuna.

Setsuna: Grr…

Taisuke: It looks like you've been attacked by Roger!

Senji: How do you explain your wound, Setsuna?

Setsuna: I… I…

Hideaki: Did we find the true culprit?

Suguru: Hideaki… thank you.

Setsuna: Tch.

Hideaki: Tch?

Setsuna: Aren't you thinking too small?

Setsuna: This bite wound could have been from anything.

Kouichi: It looks really recent though.

Setsuna: You are forgetting that Roger won't listen to anyone except Suguru.

Hideaki: Isn't it possible otherwise?

Setsuna: Hmm?

Ayako: _Is it really possible? It seems so unlikely, but…_

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Setsuna: Roger **only listens to Suguru.**

Setsuna: **There's no way Roger would listen to me.**

Hideaki: If it were possible that Roger would listen to you…

Hideaki: The wound on your arm would lead to you being the murderer.

Setsuna: However, that is not the case.

Taisuke: Hideaki, if you are so sure about your theory, would you care to enlighten us?

Hideaki: About what?

Taisuke: Is it possible that **Roger listened to Setsuna?**

Setsuna: I can't mimic voices.

Setsuna: I would never use an accomplice like Suguru.

Suguru: Huh?!

Setsuna: So explain. Explain to me right here and now.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Computer_]

Ayako: Is it possible to mimic Suguru's voice?

Setsuna: I told you I already cannot mimic voices.

Ayako: Maybe not, but with this computer, it's possible that you can.

Setsuna: What would a computer have to do with this case?

Hideaki: In many instances, it's possible to edit a voice using a program on a computer.

Setsuna: However, we are living in a deranged boarding school.

Setsuna: I doubt it's possible for me to do such a thing on a computer.

Hideaki: Are you absolutely sure?

Senji: Hideaki, you are suggesting that Setsuna somehow managed to record Suguru's voice, then edit it into a command forcing Roger to kill Tomakazu?

Hideaki: That is exactly what I am saying.

Miyu: W-when could Setsuna have had the opportunity to record Suguru though?

Hideaki: We still all have our tape recorders.

Hideaki: When Suguru talked about how she didn't want any more people to kill each other…

Hideaki: That would've been a perfect time to record.

Setsuna: I already told you, however, that it is absolutely impossible for me to edit a tape recorder like this.

Setsuna: Please enlighten me on how that is possible.

Hideaki: This tape recorder is an advanced one, created by Monokuma.

Hideaki: It has a USB port on the end of the case, so you do not need a tape player to hear voices.

Kouichi: Instead, you could put the tape recorder into the computer desktop, and then upload a file of it?

Setsuna: How much times to I have to tell you that it's impossible?

Setsuna: Honestly… how futile.

Ayako: _It's not futile._

Ayako: _I know it is. Setsuna, check and mate._

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Setsuna: It's not possible at all for me to have edited voices together.

Hideaki: Why is that?

Setsuna: Think about it. I know Monokuma said that the computer room opened up.

Setsuna: **But there is no such thing on that computer for me to edit voices with.**

Taisuke: If this is the case, then Hideaki's theory is obviously incorrect.

Senji: Then we have no choice in naming Suguru as the murderer again.

Setsuna: Again, it's impossible for me. **How could I have edited voices together without a program?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: List of Programs_]

Ayako: Kouichi, did you forget about the program list you came up with?

Kouichi: Oh right! Let me take a look at that.

Kouichi: Look at this! There is a sound editor.

Hideaki: With a sound editor, my theory is clearly plausible.

Hideaki: In fact, it's probably true.

Setsuna: …

Ayako: You did it, right Setsuna?

Setsuna: …

Hideaki: If you say you didn't, explain the bite wound.

Setsuna: …

Takako: W-why, Setsuna? Why?

Setsuna: Your theory is still… interesting. But there's still one flaw.

Ayako: Huh?

Setsuna: You claim I got Roger to attack Tomakazu. However, if I wrote a note…

Setsuna: I couldn't have hid from Tomakazu with Roger.

Taisuke: So you are claiming that you couldn't have attacked Tomakazu?

Saya: While it's true that Tomakazu could probably beat a dog…

Saya: …he could only have been killed if he were attacked by a sneak.

Setsuna: I will admit though, I was an accomplice to the case.

Hideaki: An accomplice?

Ayako: What are you saying? You didn't do it?!

Setsuna: I've been trying to say that this whole time.

Setsuna: No, I'm an accomplice. An accomplice to Suguru.

Suguru: Huh?!

Saya: Setsuna, you aren't convincing anyone.

Setsuna: It's true, though. You are just sending yourselves to your deaths.

Hideaki: So what do you propose happened?

Setsuna: Simple. Suguru and Roger were taking a walk while I planned to kill Tomakazu.

Setsuna: Roger then attacked from behind, leaving me to witness.

Kyouko: If that's true, then why did you not tell us anything about it?

Setsuna: I have to admit… I didn't understand it myself.

Setsuna: It was a mistake in my part, and I admit it.

Ayako: _No… Setsuna, you aren't fooling anyone._

Ayako: _It's time you admitted to your crimes!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: Why do you say it's impossible for you to have killed Tomakazu?

Setsuna: I explained already. There's no way I could have surprised Tomakazu.

Setsuna: **How else would I have gotten to attack Tomakazu?**

Kouichi: Is that really true, though?

Setsuna: We can't prove that Suguru was taking a walk…

Suguru: …because I wasn't!

Setsuna: …but you'll have to take my word.

Kyouko: Is it true? Did Suguru really kill Tomakazu?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Towel_]

Ayako: Take a look at this towel.

Setsuna: Grr!

Hideaki: I recognize that blue stain anywhere.

Ayako: Correct. It is a chloroform stain.

Setsuna: Grr…

Taisuke: So you are saying that Tomakazu was attacked by Setsuna, with a towel padded with chloroform.

Setsuna: Liars! Each and every one of you!

Kouichi: This sounds likely. Plus Setsuna is acting up like most killers do.

Setsuna: Acting up? Why wouldn't I?

Setsuna: I'm being falsely accused!

Ayako: If you really think so… I'll go over the events of Tomakazu's death.

Ayako: With you as the murderer, Setsuna!

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!**_

Ayako: First, Monokuma presented us with tape recorders with our incentive on it. It contained voices and memoirs of our families, and our deepest emotions with them. However, Setsuna instead saw this as a chance to murder. She had remarkably fast thinking, but it happened. Setsuna used her tape recorder and recorded Suguru's voice. After that, Setsuna headed to the computer room, and edited it into a new sound file, saying: "Roger, kill Tomakazu." It was time for Setsuna to fetch Roger, however, and commence her crime. Setsuna attempted to take Roger, but she was attacked and bitten by Roger, causing Roger to lose a tooth and for Setsuna to get a bite wound on her arm. After she finally managed to get Roger, she waited for Tomakazu in the pool, after finding a way to copy my handwriting on a note. Tomakazu arrived, expecting to see me so we could apologize and clear the air, but he was disappointed to see Setsuna instead. Setsuna then attacked him with the chloroform towel, and as Tomakazu fainted, Setsuna played the recording, telling Roger to kill Tomakazu. It's weird that a dog would understand what she meant by that, but if it was the voice of the Super Highschool Level Animal Trainer…

Ayako: …it's possible, isn't it Setsuna?!

* * *

_**Third class trial complete! Live to see another day!**_

"Bravo," Setsuna said, as I finished explaining the crime. "You really have come a long way, Ayako. I thought this would be such a perfect crime."

"Unfortunately, you were careless," Hideaki said. "Leaving the bloodstain and the towel at the scenes of the crime ultimately meant an early grave for you."

"Yes, yes," Setsuna said, "and I fully acknowledge my mistakes.

"It looks like you guys have come up with a decision!" Monokuma said. As we all voted for Setsuna during ballot time, Monokuma took out the slot machine, and as Monokuma pulled the lever, the machine started. Setsuna's three faces appeared, and Monokuma hopped up and down, spinning in a circle. "Congratulations! Congratulations!" Monokuma exclaimed. "You got it right again you guys! Man, you are too good!"

"But, why?" Takako said through tears. "Setsuna, you're a daughter of God! Why would you kill someone?" Setsuna looked down at the ground, taking a pocket bible out of her pocket and throwing it at Monokuma. Monokuma dodged, and brought a paw to his mouth.

"Oho?" Monokuma said. "That was violent."

"God? What God?" Setsuna said angrily. "I've believed and trusted in him my whole life! Where was he now? I'm trapped in this stupid academy where I have to watch people kill each other. No, I'm getting out, and I'm seeing my family. But what did God ever do for me? I've worshipped him my whole life, yet there is nothing from him. No savior, no repent. Is this coliseum not pure sin? Is God allowing this to happen, sitting in a sofa made of clouds and eating a bag of popcorn?" Setsuna began to break down, losing her typical cool composure.

"Besides! I had to get out of here! I had to! I had a whole entire damn future ahead of me, why the hell should I be trapped in this coliseum?! I worshipped God all my life so I could accomplish that dream! I _worked _for God so I could be blessed with good fortune and wellship! Forget this academic coliseum! What the hell is this?!"

"You killed my best friend," I said to her. "I won't forgive you."

"Your best friend was an accomplice to a murder! It was his weakness towards you that killed him!" Setsuna snapped at me. "You're saying you forgive him?!" I nodded, and Setsuna tilted her head back and laughed wildly. "God!" she screamed. "If you truly do exist, may you give me punishment now! Send me to Hell, the realm of the sinners, and I'll see if you really do love all your children!"

"That's enough now," Monokuma said. "It's time for your punishment, Mrs. Priest!" Monokuma began to laugh wildly, as he brought out his gavel, and slammed it against the big red button.

* * *

Monokuma arrived in front of Setsuna, and took her by the hand. He took all of us into a church looking building on the surface, and in the basement, were five Monokuma's dressed up as monks. They held crosses on their fingers, and tied Setsuna up on a wooden board. As they opened up a sunroof and let the light shine through, Setsuna took her hands, putting them together, and prayed. She began to mouth a rhyme about God, and as the roof completely opened, a large laser gun popped out of the ground and pointed at Setsuna.

**GOD'S REJECTION!**

Monokuma powered up the laser sight, and as Setsuna finished her prayer, she opened her eyes, looking up, and seeing the huge laser gun pointed at her face. The gun powered on, and almost immediately vaporized her body, not even leaving the slightest bit of blood, the only remains of her body being the ash made from the gun. As we horrifyingly saw Setsuna disappear right in front of us, an angel arrived from the sky, and picked up the ashes, heading back to the sky.

* * *

The third class trial was officially over. It was like everything was running on a schedule now. Someone kills, that someone dies, and then the next day, it's just rinse and repeat. It'd be nice if we could go a month without shedding blood, because we were falling apart. Everyone was falling apart, and even I was starting to lose my composure. Everyone was dropping like flies. Once I thought I got to know them, they disappeared from my vision and headed straight to the world above.

We all knew the drill. It was afternoon by the time the class trial ended, but no one talked for the rest of the day. Even Rin was just limited to a bunch of grunts and sighs. That day at dinner, I was probably the most silent, thinking about Tomakazu. My resolve was settled; he was misguided and misled. He might have been an accomplice to Megumi's death, but he was still my friend. If I didn't treat him so badly, would he have been killed? That question that dug a hole in my head stayed with me for the rest of the day, and I needed to let it off my chest.

That night, I revisited the pool. Hideaki tagged along, and as we were talking, I saw that the pool was completely cleaned up. There was not one hint of Tomakazu's return. We had brought flowers that we picked from the garden located at the park, and as I laid them down on where Tomakazu was killed, through the reflection of the water, through the reflection of my one tear, I saw Rin standing behind us. She was at the gate, and she looked like the way she did when the mask was tightly glued on her face. She was a vulnerable little ballerina dancer, dancing her way to fame and fortune, and the same girl that held flowers the day that her dad died.

Rin saw us, her mouth wide open, and she crushed the flowers she held in her hand and threw them into the water.

"I wasn't doing shit!" Rin said. "You guys better fucking back off!" Rin ran off into the direction of the dormitories, and I stared at her as she left a trail of insanity. I suppose even Rin's feelings towards Tomakazu as a friend was genuine, as she held flowers in her hand and intended to put them at Tomakazu's mini grave I set up that afternoon. I don't think she was expecting anyone to pay Tomakazu a visit. I wasn't sure anymore, whether or not Rin was wearing a mask before, or if she is wearing a mask right now. As she laughed off into the distance, I stared at Hideaki, who shrugged at my question.

"You might be right," Hideaki said. "Maybe Rin does harbor some feelings."

I kneeled beside the large rock I used as a gravestone, and placed the flowers down. Clasping my hands together, I prayed for Tomakazu. I prayed he'd go to Heaven instead of Hell. I prayed he'd find peace in an afterlife somewhere. "God bless him," I said, and with that quick goodbye, I headed back to the dorms with Hideaki.

"You're strong," Hideaki said to me. "You have the strength to forgive, which isn't an easy thing."

I looked at him, and smiled. "I'm just an ordinary piano player."

I thought back at the time where I met Rin at my old preschool. I was playing on a small keyboard, and Rin was gracefully dancing behind me, as the rest of my class watched. We sealed a friendship, and every day, we'd hang out with Noburu and Tomakazu. We played, we had fun, and we all thought about the future, and what we'd do.

"I'm going to be a piano player!" I said. "I'm really good at it!"

"I can dance with you!" Rin said. "I'm a good dancer, too!"

"While you two lame o's do that," Tomakazu joked, "I'm going to be a football player! Everyone will look up to me as their favorite player!"

"I don't know what I'll be," Noburu said. "I think I need more time to think."

"You're really good at planning things!" I exclaimed. "Maybe you could join the military!"

"Don't joke about that!" Noburu said. "Rin's father died in the military!"

"It wasn't a joke!" I claimed, and I looked at Rin who was still smiling. She seemed to have gotten past her father's death. She seemed to have gotten past everything.

I remembered that time like it was just moments ago. Man, those were the days…

_**Continued in Chapter 4: (n)everyday life**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#12

Monokuma: Hmm, maybe I want to be a singer when I grow up.

Monokuma: Lots of people do! Because they want to be an idol to others.

Monokuma: But just take a look at pop idols today. They aren't "idols" to anyone.

Monokuma: They do drugs and they piss in buckets… They are disgusting people, you know?

* * *

"Upupupu! You did a great job today!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"…"

"What's with the silence? Don't like working with me?" Monokuma asked.

"I have a question for you."

"Yes? What would you like?"

"Who are you? Why am I working for you?"

"Because! Upupupu, you know you have that 'situation' on your hands! Isn't that right… my dear little mole! Ahahahaha!"

Monokuma's insane laughter rang through the head of his mole.

"And anyways, it's about time we _reveal_yourself to our screaming audience! You are becoming really defiant!"

"I would never betray you, Super Highschool Despair."

"Oh? Is that so? Will we find out in the next **chapter** of our lives? Let's see then!"


	14. Chapter 4: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_ Psycho People Holding Metersticks _

(n)everyday life

I stared at the ceiling as I lay down in my bed. There were already six victims to Monokuma's twisted and demented game. I got up from my bed, and took a step outside from the dormitories to grab a breath of fresh air. I took a stroll in the park, and I noticed a woodpecker standing on top of the gazebo. Taking a look at it, stretching my hand to feel the bird's freedom, it flew away, escaping this academic coliseum. I wish I had wings, so I could be like that bird. There was never and limitation with where a bird could fly to. I'd go anywhere I could, nothing anyone could do about that.

The bench in the corner of the park was vacant and empty. It was comforting to walk in this park like I would on the outside world. I didn't like this place at all, but at the very least, Hope's Peak Boarding School felt like a real town. I wasn't completely lost with the outside world, and I did my best to connect. Heading to the movie theater, I noticed posters on the wall with the latest movies coming out. Of course, the theater itself wasn't running, but I went in anyways, taking a seat in the front row and pretending I was at a premiere. Yeah, I was desperate.

Glancing at my watch, I noticed it was 1:20. We all agreed we'd meet at the cafeteria for lunch to discuss our current situation. It's final – everyone wanted out of this academy. We didn't want to stay in this hellhole any longer. So it was time to leave. I arrived at the cafeteria, and saw Kouichi and Takako waiting for me. Sitting down, I glanced over at Takako. She seemed to be holding up relatively well, considering the death of Setsuna, but I still couldn't help feeling bad for her. Kouichi was whistling, eating a burger, and the three of us patiently waited for everyone's arrival.

As soon as everyone began to pile in, the thirteen of us had nothing to say but silence. Roger began barking, and Suguru attempted to hush him up, but it was obvious none of us had a plan or a lead.

"Uh, hey," Kouichi said, "why don't we just climb over the fence?"

"The freaking barbed wire," Takako muttered. "That's why we can't."

"Isn't it worth little pricks here and there to escape this school though?" Kyouko asked.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"Incorrect!" said Monokuma over the intercom. "Wrong! Bzzt! False! The barbed wire is also rigged with electricity! If you touch it, zap! Kaboom!"

"So there's really no way out without seriously maiming yourself," I sighed. "Does that mean we're trapped in here forever?"

"Of course not!" Monokuma said, swooning over the intercom. "Just kill someone, and then you can leave. Simple as A-B-C! Easy as 1-2-3!" Monokuma then ended the announcement, and we were all left to stare at each other in silence. If the fence was no longer an option, we had no more ideas. I grabbed my head, and began to think: "How could we leave this place?"

"I-I have an idea," Miyu said. She got up and stood on the chair, pointing at Taisuke.

"He knows Monokuma's secret, doesn't he?" Taisuke raised an eyebrow at this, and pointed a finger back at her.

"This card?" Taisuke said, holding up the ace card.

"You didn't make the trade?" Hideaki asked.

"He wasn't willing," Taisuke sighed. "It's a shame, because I really wanted to know the secrets of this academy."

"It would have been nice to know," I whined. Miyu got back down and stuffed her head in her arms. We were all worn out and tired now. Our interactions with others and our actions with other things were extremely limited. What could we do other than think? Hideaki took a final bite out of his cake, and got up. "Where are you going?" I asked. He shook his head, and exited the cafeteria.

"Just exploring."

Exploring? I got up out of the seat, and stepped outside. Hideaki wasn't anywhere to be found. Did he go missing? Going back in the cafeteria, I remembered that Monokuma should have opened up some new areas for us to explore. "We should at least check out the new places Monokuma granted access to," I said.

"I suppose that's a good idea," Taisuke sighed. He put the card back in his pocket, and left swiftly for the football stadium where the fence last was. Senji got up next, not bothering to put away his dishes, and then everyone soon followed afterwards. Each of us headed for the football stadium, and noticed the fence was now gone. We had access to a new area of the academy, which I suppose was a good thing. I didn't really have anything to comment on a new opened up area.

"Let's go," I said.

Entering the new areas was at least a semi-positive. There was a bike rental shop, and an actual bike trail that opened up, which was great, since I loved biking. I immediately hopped on a bike, and took a spin around the trail. The trail itself was poorly managed, considering this academy hasn't been used for a while, but it was better than nothing. Finishing that up, I headed next for a warehouse. Kouichi was there, and noticed a bunch of firearms in boxes. In the basement was an incinerator for disposing of garbage. A new opened up area as well was the greenhouse. Takako liked it in there, even though it was extremely humid inside, but there were a lot of plants. It seemed like Monokuma was at least keeping that area up-to-date.

I walked back to the cafeteria and reported my discoveries with the others. It looked like no one found anything of importance that opened up anywhere else. Kouichi got up and exclaimed that there was actually an archery range not far off.

"That's cool," I said. "You tried it?" Kouichi nodded.

"I kick total ass at anything related to aiming," Kouichi boasted. "I could shoot you with an arrow from a mile away, though I'd need to keep track of my trajectory and the wind speed and –"

"Yes, we get it," Kyouko said. "Unfortunately, we still can't get any service, which sort of sucks."

Hideaki walked into the room. "I was just checking out the areas," Hideaki said. "I didn't find anything different from what you guys probably did."

"Did you find any service?" Kyouko said, lighting up.

"Do you really need service?" I sighed. As we all talked, Miyu entered the room with Kichiro. Miyu was shaking, and Kichiro was trying to comfort her in all the ways that he could.

"What happened?" I asked. "Did Miyu get hurt?"

"N-no," Miyu said. "I just saw something pretty scary!" Kichiro shook his head, and led everyone to the incinerator. I guess I didn't see it before, since I only took a glance at where the incinerator was located. But inside the incinerator, there were bodies.

Bodies of people we knew that were killed in this academy. Bodies of people we didn't know that seemed to be killed before. Bodies of people, bodies of animals, even the corpses of small stuffed toys were thrown across the room to make it look even creepier.

"Hello!" Monokuma said, appearing behind us. "This is sort of awkward, isn't it?"

"What is this?" I screamed. "Why are there so many bodies in here?!"

"You see," Monokuma started, "we planned on preserving these bodies using a fridge. That's definitely going to be incorporated in the next coliseum we start."

"You're going to start a new academic coliseum?" Hideaki asked.

"Correct!" Monokuma said. "It's pretty cool, right? Anyways, we didn't have any room to store the bodies, so we decided to dump them here!"

"Who is this 'we' you keep referring to?" Senji asked.

"My allies," Monokuma said. "We keep tabs on each other."

Miyu threw up almost immediately after Monokuma finished talking. Kichiro rushed her to the bathroom, and I stared as they ran up the stairs. I was concerned about Miyu. She was weak – I wasn't sure whether or not she'd last long enough in this place. But I'd protect her. We'd all protect her – a sweet girl like that didn't deserve to die.

I decided to head back to the bike trail for a few minutes. Cycling on the rocky and bumpy road, I tried a few tricks that professional bikers did. I stood up on the pedals, and went faster and faster, letting the wind brush into my face. Next, I tried a wheelie, which I was surprisingly able to do without injuring any of my body parts. Lastly, I tried to hop on my bike while riding, which ended in considerable misery, as I tumbled down the hill down to the bottom of it. However, that wasn't the most surprising thing. The most surprising thing that I saw was a shack.

There was indeed a shack at the bottom of the hill. It looked boarded up, and it was old and crusty. I heard Monokuma's voice inside it though, and I pressed my ear against the door to listen to what he was saying.

"I'm going to provide a new incentive today!" Monokuma said. "This one is going to be killer!"

"I see," said someone else. This voice was really familiar, but I think my brain shut it out, because I didn't want to believe it was true. "In the meantime, that was some quick thinking on the barbed wire."

"Oh, you're just saying that!" Monokuma said. "Besides, I think you really _are_ just saying that!"

"Pardon me?" the voice said.

"You've grown too attached to the other students already," Monokuma said, "particularly that Ayako girl that you seem to hang with a lot! What the chiz man? I thought we were tight!"

Ayako? This person's grown too close to me?

"I haven't grown any attachment to any of these people," the voice said. "You are misguided."

"Screw that!" Monokuma yelled. "I know you want to get your kink on with Ayako! I know you want to share a nice cold beer with Rikiya! I know you want to go to the shooting gallery with Kouichi!"

So this person wasn't Rikiya or Kouichi…

"I know that you'd attend a class with Takako any day! I know that you had a texting competition with Kyouko that one time and you lost! But you didn't care!"

It obviously wasn't a girl that was this person. If it wasn't Rikiya, Kouichi, or any of the girls, then there were only a few people left that could possibly be this person. But what was this person's role? From what I've overheard, it sounded like whoever this guy was, could possibly be a mole to Monokuma. Whoever this was happened to be a traitor to all of us. I pressed my head against the door again, and heard Monokuma raging on.

"Senji is all mysterious but you want to help him! Even you want to go on a walk with Suguru and Roger because the two are so damn adorable! Whoops! I got ahead of myself there."

"What is your point?" the voice growled. "Where are you going with this?"

"You want to play cards with Taisuke! You'd love to paint with Miyu and go on a math hunt with Kichiro! You'd even attend an awards show with Saya, wouldn't you?! Don't forget about crazy ass Rin!"

"What's your point in doing all this?" the voice said. Monokuma… it was him that he didn't call out?

"You came down here for a reason," Monokuma said. "I didn't ask for you to meet with me today." After that, there was just silence. My thoughts ran through my head, Monokuma mentioned Rikiya, Kouichi, Senji, Taisuke, Kichiro, Miyu, Takako, Saya, Miyu, Rin, Kyouko, and Suguru. Monokuma even mentioned me. If those people aren't talking with Monokuma right now… then the only person possibly cooperating with Monokuma was… No, I can't believe it. That's impossible.

"Hideaki," Monokuma said, "are you going against me?"

I gasped, and grabbed my head. Hideaki? A mole to the puppetmaster? That's ridiculous! I can't… even fathom the idea. My head started to pound, and my hands started to shake. If Hideaki truly was an ally to Monokuma, then was our friendship a lie? Was his past a lie? Was his relationship with Rin a lie? I didn't want to believe it – I liked Hideaki for who he was, but if he was helping Monokuma keep tabs on all of us… why was he actually talking to me?

At that point, it all made sense to me. The reason why his name wasn't listed in that thread online wasn't because he wanted to keep it secret. Monokuma planted Hideaki in there. It was all Monokuma's doing – using Hideaki. I pressed my head against the door again. I needed to listen what happened next. I needed to find out what they were going to say. Is it really true that Hideaki could be a mole? Even so, Monokuma began talking again.

"If you are, you can say so," Monokuma said. "I really don't give a damn either way." There was no talking. Then Hideaki spoke up.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I suppose you're right." Silence again was heard through the air. Wind whispered hell down my throat as I listened to what Hideaki had to say next.

"I will… no longer help you," Hideaki said nervously. "I can't anymore."

"Did you forget?" Monokuma asked. "The reason why you're helping me?" I heard Hideaki gasp, and pound the wall. Monokuma wasn't letting him help willingly? It was all because of some form of bribery or blackmail?

"Of course I didn't…" Hideaki said. "Who in hell would? No, even so, I will no longer… I can't keep up anymore."

"Oh? So you're not helping me because this job is too hard?" Monokuma asked. "You're just being lazy?"

"No," Hideaki said. "Is it because of _her?_"

Her?

"I don't know. Is it because I no longer wish to secure the safety of my family? I don't know that either. It might be because of you. I don't even know who you are."

"You wish to know my identity? You want to know the puppetmaster's name?"

"That's not all," Hideaki said. "I guess I no longer think despair is stronger than hope. You say despair spreads like a disease, but hope spreads like laughter. It's like –"

"I wasn't aware laughter could spread," Monokuma mocked. "Upupupu! See, you aren't going, upupupu, now are you? You aren't even going hahaha like humans do! Let me tell you something, Hideaki, despair will always win against hope. Hope is a weak emotion, and is crushed easily by just the slightest thing. You know the cat on the tree? There's hope at first a fireman would be able to save it, but what if it falls? So those hope, there's no thinking about how the cat will probably live. It's just weak humans whining about how sad it was that a cat fell off a tree."

"Hope isn't weak," Hideaki said. "These people that you locked up here probably won't be the best example, but we will beat you. We will find out who you are, and we will dethrone you."

"Dethrone? Whaddya mean by that?"

"I'll kill you myself," Hideaki claimed. "That is my new resolve. We will work together and kill you!"

"Oh really now," Monokuma said mockingly. "Why would you, want to kill me? Besides, I don't know if anyone would jump to the moment and try and help you."

"What?"

"I know to hell if anyone found out that you were my mole, they would go against you like a lion against two little baby pandas!"

"You're going to reveal my role as your mole?" Hideaki asked. "Go ahead, I resign from that position anyways." Monokuma began laughing, and walked towards the door.

"Knock, knock!" Monokuma said pounding at the door. "Ayako, you're waiting there, aren't you?" I heard Hideaki gasp, and I couldn't even gasp myself. Monokuma knew I was spying on them the whole time.

"You really aren't as good as Hideaki!" Monokuma said. "Did you know that he was the Super Highschool Level Spy?"

"You asshole!" Hideaki yelled.

"I didn't hear anything!" I claimed. "I just came!"

"Bull!" Monokuma said. "But that's fine, if you didn't, I'll tell you right now! Hideaki was my mole! Remember when you were talking to Senji about that brochure? Hideaki was there, spying on you! He kept tabs on you and everyone else on this academy!" I heard Hideaki yell, "shut up," to Monokuma, but he kept going as I kept falling into deeper darkness. "Remember when you were talking to Kouichi about his family and his past! Hideaki told me about that too! But how I got that incentive with the deepest desires was Hideaki and his neat-o spying tricks! Diaries, memoirs, you name it!"

"What are you trying to do?!" I screamed at Monokuma. "Please just stop it already! I don't want to hear anymore!"

"Oh but it's so much fun!" Monokuma said with glee. "Hideaki was my mole! He knows all about Senji's past and his secrets, but he never told any of you!"

"Shut up!" Hideaki screamed. "Stop it!" The door was still closed in front of me. I could open it, and rush in, and tell Monokuma that he was lying. I'd take Hideaki away, and I'd pretend none of this ever happened. This was worse than death, because betrayal stayed with you forever. I reached for the doorknob, and Monokuma began to laugh some more.

"No need!" Monokuma said. "I'll open it for you! Revealing Hideaki!" Monokuma opened the door, and almost immediately, Hideaki rushed out. He stared at me, and I stared at him. His eyes were wide and watering, and mine were mirroring his. We stared at each other, as Monokuma walked in between us. Monokuma sat on my lap, and started to laugh.

"Does it hurt?" Monokuma asked. "Does it pain you to be betrayed so many times? First there was Rin, who was wearing a mask and concealing her true identity towards you. Then, there was Noburu; you're very special friend who killed someone else. Third on the list was Tomakazu, wasn't it? He was so hurtful, he just went and died. If you count Aaron too, someone who you thought was your friend, but ended up killing, then I guess that counts. Setsuna counts in that retrospect too though, so all things considered, in like two months, you've been betrayed to the brink!" Monokuma stood up, and pointed at Hideaki. "Presenting number six!" Monokuma said. "Your new supposed best friend at this academy was actually only playing you the whole time!" Hideaki shook his head, his eyes still bulging. The tears streamed down my face faster than I could blink. I got up from the ground, and just headed back up the hill. I didn't look back to Monokuma laughing, mocking Hideaki. I didn't look back to see how Hideaki reacted to all of this.

I didn't want to. I couldn't face him again.

Running back to the bike trail, my head bleeding from the fall, Kouichi was biking and immediately saw me bloodied.

"Ayako!" he called out. "What the hell?" Ignoring him, I ran back to the dormitories, as Kouichi chased me back there. I was still crying without me knowing it, and I opened my door and slammed it.

"Ow!" Kouichi yelled. "My foot!"

"Leave me alone!" I screamed. "Stop!"

"What happened?" Kouichi asked. "What was down there?" I gasped at that, and I wasn't sure whether I should tell him or not. Hideaki betrayed me. He was a mole to Monokuma, that was confirmed and 100% true. But yet, I felt the need to keep the secret. Was it because of the way the two of us spent time together before? Was it sentimentality, that Saya claimed would hurt me in the end? I didn't know, but I didn't say anything. I just immediately climbed onto my bed, and stuffed my face in my pillow, staining it red with blood.

I didn't come out that day. I stayed in my room the whole entire day. There were knocks on my door with people trying to get in, and take in a grasp on what just happened. I heard Hideaki try to get in my room as well, but he eventually gave up. There was no way in hell that I'd open the door for him. Even Saya checked up on me. I guess I stirred up a pretty huge scene.

After countless hours came by, I left the door, and saw Kouichi, Saya, and Rin waiting for me at the door.

"What the hell?" Saya said. "What happened to your head?!"

"I'm surprised she's here too," Kouichi sighed. "I'm especially surprised she's her," Kouichi said, pointing at Rin.

"Yo, ho, redneck!" Rin said. "Except your head's red, not your neck!"

"What are you guys doing here?" I sighed.

"You should be concerned I'm showing the slightest bit of concern over you," Saya said. "I didn't have to stop my bath midway just to check up on you."

"We have a bath now?" I asked weakly.

"Monokuma opened it up just now, saying that we all were beginning to smell weird," Kouichi said. "I guess it was just from the bodies, since I take a shower every day."

"That bath is a HUGE ass bath!" Rin laughed. "Holy hell I could drown in there!"

The three of them led me to the infirmary to get me treated for my head wound. As Kouichi wrapped a bandage on my head, I stood on the floor, my depression still showing.

"What happened down there?" Kouichi asked.

"I just fell," I said. "It really hurt."

"Bullshit!" Rin said laughing. "It hurt WAAAYYY more than just, 'really!'"

"You want to know Kouichi?" said Monokuma. I stared at Monokuma, not even jumping like the others. Rin laughed some more, Saya demanded Monokuma to stop doing that, and Kouichi jumped back five feet. I didn't react in any way. Was I emotionless now?

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, Kouichi wanted to know why you were so upset, so I'm going to tell him," Monokuma said. "No biggie!"

"What?!" I jumped on my feet, and Monokuma disappeared, reappearing on my head.

"What's with the surprise?" Monokuma asked. "You don't even like him anymore!"

"Who's him?" Kouichi asked. "Me?!"

"No, not you," Monokuma said. "But I'll tell you!" Monokuma disappeared again, and the bell started to ring.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Attention you guys! Please head to the graduation plaza! I have some special news to share with all of you!"_

I immediately got up, ignoring that Kouichi still wasn't done with patching up my head. I tied the loose bandage and rushed to the graduation plaza. As everyone began to pile up there, I noticed that Hideaki wasn't there, even though this was all about him. However, Monokuma wasn't there either.

"Where's Monokuma?" Takako asked.

"He should be here," Rikiya said, taking out a beer. "Typical of him to just be lazy and not take anything he said before seriously."

"Hey!" Monokuma called out. "I'm not lazy!" To all of our surprises, even mine, he was pulling Hideaki with a rope tied to his neck, onto the platform. He took out a wooden stick, taped it onto the podium, and tied the rope onto the stick. Hideaki was standing on the podium, looking out into the far horizon. I realized that Monokuma was going to reveal his secret, and something would happen to Hideaki.

"Hey, you guys!" Monokuma said. "Hideaki has a little secret he wants to share with you! Go ahead, Hideaki!" Hideaki didn't speak, only closing his eyes, and grabbing the rope across his neck. The platform rose higher and higher, preparing for what was to come next. Monokuma nailed down the stick, deciding tape wasn't enough, and started to yell. "Yo! Hideaki! Tell them!" Hideaki shook his head, and Monokuma stomped.

"Fine! I have to do it then! Hideaki was my mole people! Hideaki was my mole!"

The world was shrinking around me. I knew this already, but hearing this a second time with everyone next to me, had an impact. I saw everyone gasp, and everyone look at Hideaki with stares of betrayal. Hideaki only opened his eyes, and looked down on all of us. His eyes were red from the tears that stained him, and Monokuma got up on the podium.

"Now, you all are pretty angry," Monokuma said, "and I am too, since Hideaki said he'd no longer work for me."

"That's bullshit!" Rin called out, laughing. "No one does that!"

"So you have the option!" Monokuma said. "Right here, right now, you can kill Hideaki!" I gasped. I knew that this would come, but I didn't know that it'll be an option. "Or you can spare him!" Monokuma placed his paws on Hideaki's pack, preparing to push him down, and hang him. But he awaited an answer from us. Hideaki was standing on the podium, prepared to die, and my head was pounding. Do I save Hideaki? Do I kill Hideaki? What should I do?

"K-kill him of course!" Takako screamed. "H-he was the puppetmaster's mole! We should kill him!"

"However," Taisuke said raising a finger, "he could be useful in finding out more _about_ the puppetmaster."

"That's true," Kyouko said. As everyone was talking amongst themselves, I was battling my inner self. Hideaki looked at me, and I stared into his eyes. His eyes were fearful, not like anything I saw before. Was it because he was afraid to be judged? Did he not want to go on as the puppetmaster's mole, and did he want to die?

"Do you want to save Hideaki? He betrayed all of you! He could kill you at any second!" I found it weird that Hideaki didn't offer up any defense for himself. It didn't seem like him. Then again, he was the puppetmaster's mole, so maybe all I thought about him was really just a mask; like Rin's.

"Vote soon!" Monokuma said. "Offer only applies while supplies last! Now, raise your hand if you want to kill Hideaki!" It was time to vote. It felt like we were at a class trial, except we discovered the identity of a traitor among us. I almost completely expected that everyone would probably attempt to kill him. I thought to myself, I cannot take another traitor. However, what happened next was surprising. Takako raised her hand, but aside from her, none of us wanted to kill Hideaki. Not even me.

Was it to use him? Was it impulse among us?

Was it because he was our friend? Monokuma looked disappointed as he stood on that stage, and as Monokuma walked off, I walked up on the stage, and took the rope off Hideaki's neck. Hideaki didn't say a word to me as I led him off the platform, and down to the crowd of people that Hideaki would need to confront. Takako lunged at Hideaki, punching him in the face, and as we all looked as Hideaki's nose bled, I let go of Hideaki's hand, and walked back to the dormitories.

I couldn't face Hideaki. I needed time to think about things. Especially since Hideaki was one of the best friends I ever made. In only one month, the two of us clicked almost instantly; but I realized just then and there that it could all have been a trick. Was his past really the way it happened? I can't trust the word of Rin, who's a crazy dingbat, but Hideaki…

I looked out the window to where I could see the graduation plaza. Everyone had already dispersed, and Hideaki was kneeling on the ground, looking ashamed from a distance.

It was a frightening sight.

But the horror had only begun.

When dinner started, we noticed that Kyouko was missing from the table.

"Where's Kyouko?" I asked. "She's usually the first person to eat."

I looked around again. Kyouko definitely wasn't among us, and neither was Hideaki, but that's because he locked himself in his room. We all looked at each other, nervous, and immediately we got up from the table.

Rushing to the newly opened area, we split up to explore and find Kyouko. Not knowing where she could be, I searched the bike shop, and to my horror, I saw Kyouko, lying on the ground, with a pair of scissors in her right shoulder.

"Ow!" she moaned. "The hell?"

"Kyouko!" I called out, "are you okay?!" We all rushed to her side, and she grabbed the scissors and yanked it out. I had to give her credit for being able to do that, since it must've hurt like hell.

"Jesus!" she said as she pulled out the scissors. "That freaking burns!" I texted everyone to get to the bike shop as quick as they could, and I took Kyouko outside. "Are you okay?" I asked her. Kyouko nodded, and shook up. Was there anyone who attacked her?

"What happened?" Kouichi said, as he arrived.

"She was attacked by someone," I said. "She had scissors in her right shoulder." Kouichi examined her wound, and sighed.

"Nothing vital was hurt," he said. "She's losing a good amount of blood though." Kouichi offered to take her to the infirmary, and as the two of them left, everyone else arrived.

"Someone got attacked?" Taisuke asked. "That's interesting."

"W-why is that interesting?" Miyu asked nervously. "It means someone is trying to kill again!"

"But there's only one person who could have attacked Kyouko!" Taisuke said. "Could it be our friend, the puppetmaster's mole?" I looked at Taisuke, who was smiling and pointing at the dormitories.

"Should we check to see if he's still in his room?"

"He wouldn't have killed," I said. "He's not… that kind of person."

"You would've said that about him being the mole too," Saya said, sighing. "I told you that sentimentality will bite you in the back." Saya headed off alone into the dormitories to check up on Hideaki. Looking at the crowd of people, someone was missing again.

"Kichiro!" I said. "He's not here!" I rushed into the boiler room, and headed downstairs. I had a feeling something was down there, and I was right. Kichiro was tied up in a net, with an arrow piercing his right leg.

"Ayako!" he called out. "Get me down from here!" As I took a sawblade I found upstairs, I cut Kichiro down from the net, and he hopped on his left foot over to the stairs.

"Someone set up a trap here," Kichiro said. "I don't know who, but I stepped on a trap, and I was shot by an arrow, than trapped in that net." I looked at Kichiro, and back upstairs.

"Kyouko's been attacked too," I said.

"What?!"

"You stay here!" I said. "I need to find the others!"

"Wait! Ayako!"

I rushed back upstairs, and as I headed outside, I ran back to the dormitories to check on Saya. Even Saya was hurt, with her head bleeding and a knife piercing her hand through the wall. Saya was facing forward, meaning that she was attacked from behind.

"Help me!" Saya said. "Don't just stand there, you dolt!" I took the knife out as slowly as I could, and Saya sighed.

"God! Who would attack me?" I jiggled the doorknob to Hideaki's room, and to my shock, the door opened almost right away.

"He's not here," I said. "Could he… be trying to kill people?"

"He attacked me," Saya said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he attacked me!"

I looked at Saya. "Kichiro's been attacked too!"

"Kichiro?" Saya said. "By who?"

"I don't know!" I yelled. "But someone's attacking people! We have to gather everyone else together!"

Saya and I rushed to the infirmary to retrieve Kyouko and Kouichi, but to our shock, Kouichi was lying on the floor, a knife in his stomach, and Kyouko was pinned to the wall, another pair of scissors pinning her to the wall.

"This is getting really annoying!" Kyouko said, as Saya and I helped Kouichi and Kyouko. Miyu arrived, bringing Kichiro with her. As we set the three up in hospital beds, the three of us had to discover what was going on.

"Kyouko, Kichiro, Saya, and Kouichi were each attacked by someone," I said.

"Don't you need to lie down?" Miyu asked.

"Don't be stupid," Saya said. "I'm not that weak. Anyways, it's safe to assume that these four aren't the attackers then."

"Should we look for the others?" I asked. "They could be attacked too."

"We're going to need to split up," Saya said. "It's risky, but it's the only way we can cover ground."

"I don't know if I could protect myself though," Miyu said. "I don't want to die, either!"

"Come with me then," I offered.

"Don't bother! We need to cover more space!" Saya demanded. Miyu shook her head, and came close to me as Saya slapped her forehead. "Whatever!" Saya ran down the hallway, as did I, leaving the four people in the infirmary completely helpless. Rikiya ran into the room, throwing away his can of beer, and frantically asking about what just transpired. We had no time though, it was already 9:45, and a murder could happen at any second.

Running down the campus, I think it's best if we kept a long story short. We had a wild goose chase with the attacker, and eventually, we were able to round up everyone at the infirmary before anyone else could be attacked. However, that wasn't the most shocking thing, because there was actually one more person who was injured. I ran into the cafeteria, and I saw Hideaki, cowering in fear, with a large dissection knife piercing through his left eye.

"Y-your eye," I stammered, pointing at it. "What the hell happened to your eye?"

"I was attacked," Hideaki said. "Damn it." Blood was spilling out like waterworks, and Hideaki was struggling to regain a normal composure. I took Hideaki to the infirmary, where everyone else was with Monokuma who was treating the others. But it was hard to think about Hideaki's eye going missing.

"This is all so weird," Monokuma said, sighing. "This attacker is making my job hell."

"What the hell is going on?" Senji said, his teeth clenched as Monokuma treated his burn on his back. "We were all attacked, but that doesn't make sense."

"Someone hurt themselves," Hideaki said. "It's the only option, to stir trouble amongst us." I looked at Hideaki, as he flinched in pain when Monokuma brutally pulled out his eye, and gave him a small gauze and eyepatch.

What is going on? Who is attacking all of us? Is someone going to die?

"I don't want to die!" Takako screamed. "Someone save us!"

"Upupupu!"

As I thought about all this, the lights suddenly shut off. There was only darkness as we all screamed.

_**Continued in Chapter 4: Investigation**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#13

Monokuma: I've been told I kick numerous asses at the game of tag.

Monokuma: But want me to tell you a secret?

Monokuma: It's because I disappear all the time!

Monokuma: Asses kicked! Hi-yah!


	15. Chapter 4: Investigation

Monokuma: Yo, yo, and yo to you too! It's the Monokuma recap board!

Monokuma: Holy hell, there's a freaking psycho loose at my academy!

Monokuma: I can't believe it! Kyouko with scissors in her right shoulder, Kichiro with the arrow, you know the drill! Even my darling little mole had his left eye removed!

Monokuma: Yet, here we are, lights flickering on and off! This is tricky, yo!

* * *

The lights flickered back on, and to everyone's horror, I saw Rikiya lying down on the floor. Surrounding his head was a very small puddle of blood, which had excreted from his mouth, meaning he probably vomited. Everyone was packed up in the corner of the room while Rikiya lay down in the middle, the next death happening in the infirmary, which seemed to be a blood magnet. Monokuma was standing there, looking just as surprised as us, until he finally exploded.

"The hell happened here?!" Monokuma shouted. "How the hell did this happen? Why the hell did the lights go off? Who the hell did this? Why am I using the word hell so much?"

"You mean you don't know what happened?" Hideaki said, grabbing at his left eye.

"I was right here when the lights went off, you dingus!" Monokuma yelled. "Of course I don't know what the heck happened over here! I have to go found out!" Monokuma disappeared with a snap to parts unknown, and now that Monokuma was gone, all we could do was wait for his signal to start investigating.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Um, attention, you guys. I guess since a body has been found, we'll hold a class trial pretty soon. But this is kind of awkward, you know? I don't even know what happened yet. Hmm…_

"Do we start investigating then?" Takako asked. "How are we going to investigate properly without a Monokuma File?"

"S-she's right," Miyu stammered. "B-but I can't believe Rikiya is dead now!"

"Either way, we should try to figure things out ourselves," I said. I had experience now, doing this three times before. I'd take charge of this investigation – I will solve the mystery of Rikiya's murder!

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Um, I almost forgot. In the basement of the school, there's a little power room that was locked before, but for investigative purposes, I'll temporarily unlock it for you guys. By the way, I'm almost done with finding out what happened, but the freaking lights went out, so it's sort of hard. Bye!"_

"I guess I should take a look at the body," I said to myself. While everyone else was still cowering in fear, I walked forward to Rikiya's body, and lifted his head. His mouth had traces of blood on it, including his teeth, and his tongue, in addition to the puddle of blood that surrounded in front of his head. This probably meant that Rikiya was somehow poisoned and vomited blood.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Cause of Death: The cause of death was most likely due to poisoning, considering the blood surrounding Rikiya's head, the blood around his mouth, and the blood inside his mouth.

I took a look around the room to see if I could find anything different. Senji got up at this point, and took a look at the cabinets.

"It appears none of the medicine was taken out," Senji said, "and it's doubtful that the medicine cabinet was even opened at all."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"I can remember a piece of paper that was jammed between the cabinet doors and the hinge," he said. "It's still there in the same position."

"Why was there a piece of paper there though?" I asked.

"I put it there," Hideaki said, regaining his composure. "In case something like this ever happened."

"You're too good," I sighed. I guess it was safe to say that there wasn't a chance that this cabinet was opened. That meant that whoever slipped Rikiya the poison had to have prepared the poison beforehand. They either hid it in their hands or in their pockets.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Cabinet: Has not been opened, meaning any medicine inside would have to have been taken out beforehand.

As I continued to examine Rikiya's body, Hideaki got up from the floor and sat back down on the bed, fiddling with his eyepatch. It was uncomfortable to know that behind that patch was an empty eye socket. Hideaki looked at me quickly, and then turned away, exiting the infirmary to do his own investigation. Was he mad at me? Or was he afraid of what I'd think of him? I sighed and examined the body again. There was nothing else of significance, but there was something weird. Poison doesn't come in pills, but there was no sign of powder anywhere, what poison usually comes in. Considering that, if medicine instead was used, then there would be an overdose of pills. Then again, it seems rather risky to carry so many pills with you, only to use them in a lucky blackout like what we just experienced before.

I decided to talk to the people who were attacked, which were Kyouko, Kichiro, Saya, and Kouichi. Kyouko was grabbing her shoulder, complaining about the pain. "Do you remember anything?" I asked her. Kyouko looked up from her phone, and smiled.

"You sound like a real detective now," she said. "Hideaki rubbed off on you."

"Let's not talk about him right now," I said. "What do you remember?"

"Well, I was at the bike shop to get a bike for the trail," Kyouko said, "and while I was taking the bike off of its chain, I heard the door open. I turned around with my bike, but then the person suddenly lunged with the scissors. I didn't have time to think, but as I reached for a weapon, whoever attacked by stuck the scissors in my right shoulder. I closed my eyes in pain, and the killer escaped."

"You didn't see her face?" I asked. Kyouko shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was in too much shock."

I nodded, and made a note of Kyouko's words in my phone.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Kyouko's Testimony: She was attacked by surprise with the pair of scissors in the bike shop, and didn't see the killer's face after going in shock.

Next, I headed to Kichiro. He was still in pain from the arrow in his leg, being forced to walk in crutches.

"What is it?" grumbled Kichiro.

"I just wanted to know if you remembered anything," I said. "Anything would help."

"I don't remember anything," Kichiro sighed, "besides the fact that I stepped on something, causing that trap to trip."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" I asked.

"No," Kichiro said. "Sorry.

That was a disappointing discussion, but I made a note of it anyways. It was probably true that anything at all would help.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

4: Kichiro's Testimony: He entered the boiler room and stepped on something, causing a trap to trigger.

"By the way," I asked, "why did you go to the boiler room?"

"Taisuke asked me to throw something away," Kichiro sighed. "I was concerned about Kyouko, but I didn't feel like arguing with him either, so I decided I'd quickly go and meet up with you guys later." Kichiro stuffed his hands into his face, as Miyu walked over and sat next to him. Miyu patted Kichiro on the back, and all of a sudden, Kichiro lighted up like a kid in a candy shop.

"Wait," he said, "I remember something now!"

"What is it?" I asked.

"When I went down to the boiler room, I left the door open, but Ayako, when you came in, I heard you open the door," he said.

"Then that means that the attacker was there in the room with you?" Kichiro nodded, and I thanked Kichiro. It seemed like there was more to Kichiro's story than he thought. Next, I had to talk to Saya, who was leaning against the wall, fidgeting with the bandage on his head.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't need pity from you," Saya said. "What a sad world it has become when the likes of you feels worry for me."

"Uh, it's not that," I said, "but I just wanted to know if you remembered anything."

"No," Saya said.

"No?"

"No."

Saya and I stood there, exchanging glances, and Saya just shrugged.

"I was attacked from behind. That's it."

I nodded awkwardly, and I left Saya's presence after that. It seemed like a good time to bail. Though, this made me a little more curious about Saya's attack in particular.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

5: Saya's Testimony: No. Oh wait, she was attacked from behind.

Last but not least…

"Kouichi," I said, "do you remember anything about your attack?"

"Sorry, I don't remember," he said. "I was just watching over Kyouko, and we were talking, but all of a sudden, there was a knife in my chest."

"You didn't see the attacker's face either?"

"No," Kouichi said. "S-sorry…"

This killer was at least smart, knowing to disguise herself from the others. It seemed like I wouldn't get any help from any of these testimonies.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Kouichi's Testimony: Kouichi states that he was attacked from behind, just like the others.

"What an uninteresting case," Saya said. "Everyone's been attacked from behind, so we can't know the identity of the killer. Damn it…"

"The question is why the killer went through all this trouble," I said. "Why would the killer need to attack all of us to stir up confusion?"

"That's assuming that the killer is the same person as the wild attacker," Taisuke said. "It's possible that two people were trying to kill someone at the same time."

"That's a possibility," Senji said. "However, that would mean someone amongst the survivors right now is a killer, meaning it's also possible we might face another death on our hands."

Thinking about the words of my classmates, I prepared to leave to investigate where the four were attacked. I already explored the infirmary close enough, and there wasn't anything incriminating about the room. However, the attack weapon seemed to be elsewhere, meaning that the killer probably took it with them instead of leaving it.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

7: Missing Knife: The knife used to attack Kouichi is not present at the scene, meaning the killer either hid it or took it with them.

As I prepared to leave, I heard the intercom ring, and Monokuma's voice emanated throughout the room.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Hello you guys! I hope your investigation is going well! I was __**finally**__ able to determine the cause of death, so if you guys want the next Monokuma File, please visit the Graduation Plaza. Thank you!"_

Monokuma was calling us to the graduation plaza to determine the cause of death? It was probably true that my theory was correct, as there were no external wounds to be found around the body. However, the lack of a powder around the mouth could mean that the cause of death is completely different than we thought it was. I walked slowly to the graduation plaza, trying to take in anything else that could be related to this case, but when I eventually reached the graduation plaza, I saw nothing.

Monokuma hopped up onto the podium, took a bow, and slipped out a folder from behind him. He danced in a little circle, before dropping it onto the floor. "I bet you're dying to see how this sailor died!" Monokuma said. "I bet you're _wondering_ how this sailor died! I bet you're—"

I didn't let Monokuma continue as I stepped forward and took a look at the file. Not really to my surprise, but was a relatively strange thing, the Monokuma File read the cause of death of being poisoning. I guess I wish it was something else, because I wanted to make this investigation go a little bit smoother, but now I had to find out the mystery about how Rikiya got poisoned. It's hard to believe a mess wasn't made.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

8: Monokuma File #4: The fourth Monokuma File. Reads: Victim: Rikiya Emiya | Time of Death: 9:59 PM | Cause of Death: Ingested a kind of poison.

"So he really was poisoned, huh?" I asked. Knowing this, it was probably a good idea to check the infirmary again, being possible that I missed something. Before that, I needed to investigate the areas of where the others were attacked, being in front of Hideaki's room, the bike shop, and the boiler room.

"Good luck, you guys!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Let's make this class trial the best it could be!"

* * *

_**Location: Boiler Room | Time: 10:11 PM | Chapter Four**_

Heading to the boiler room and working my way down, I went to the area around the incinerator where Kichiro got trapped.

On the ground, there was a net, being lifted by a large wire that connected to a pedal. I tossed something onto the pedal, and then the trap activated. The net rose and an arrow shot out of the wall. So, pressing the pedal triggers this trap… It made sense for the net, but I was still curious on how the attacker managed to rig the arrow to fire.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

9: Net: The net used to capture Kichiro hangs from a large wire.

10: Trap Mechanism: Stepping on a pedal causes the net to rise, and an arrow to shoot out of the wall.

* * *

_**Location: Bike Shop | Time: 10:21 PM | Chapter Four**_

Next, I headed for the bike shop. I remembered Kyouko said she was trying to take the chain off of the bike, and sure enough, a bike was lying on the floor with its chain unattached. I wasn't sure whether or not was important to the case, besides that it did confirm Kyouko's testimony. However, I noticed something strange, that there wasn't any blood on the bike or the chain. She was stabbed by scissors though, so it probably wouldn't leak out the same way a knife would. I would never know though.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

11: Bike & Chain: A bike and its chain are lying on the floor. There's no blood on any of the two items.

As I turned around to leave the room, to my surprise, Hideaki walked in. He paid me no mind, and went straight to the bike. He seemed to make the same observations I did, and noticing my stares towards him, Hideaki turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"N-nothing!" I said. "Carry on." Hideaki sighed, turning back to work on the bike. I looked down at him again, not because of his investigation, but because of how I was curious on how to look at him now. Personality wise, he seemed the same. But whether or not his feelings about the others were fake was the question.

"Please stop looking down at me," Hideaki requested. "It's uncomfortable."

"Oh! Sorry," I said. "I'll just be leaving now then." The air was extremely awkward as I opened up the doors, and left Hideaki alone. Did I want to be friends with him again? I wasn't sure, but I needed to know of his true feelings eventually. I was just that kind of person. Leaning against the door to the bike shop, I walked over to the window and took one little small glance. Hideaki walked over and shut the blinds, leaving the two of us even further disconnected.

* * *

_**Location: In Front of Hideaki's Dorm | Time: 10:30 PM | Chapter Four**_

Ignoring what just happened at the bike shop, I headed next to where Saya was attacked. Saya was there as well, investigating her own attack. Where Saya was pinned to the wall with a knife had a large bloodstain on it. It leaked down to the floor a little bit as well. In addition, the ground had a pool of dry blood coming from Saya's attack to the head, meaning she would've had to fall down after being attacked by the blunt object.

However, there wasn't anything to find around the area that was of use to attack Saya. In addition, the knife was missing.

"Are you looking for this?" Saya asked, holding up an iron pipe.

"Oh! Yes, thank you," I said. There was blood stained on the top of the pipe where Saya was attacked. "Did you find the knife?" I asked.

"No," she said, "When you dropped it taking me to the infirmary, it appears someone picked it up. Probably the attacker that did it."

"So there's no knife, huh?" I asked. We investigated the area a little more, and Saya began to talk to me, which surprised me a great deal.

"Are you upset about Hideaki?" she asked. "It's not like me to care, but I was just curious."

"Of course I am," I said. "But I won't let that get in the way of this investigation." Saya nodded, and turned to me.

"I have reason to believe Hideaki is the killer."

"Huh?"

Saya entered Hideaki's room, and revealed a bottle of cyanide that was found in the trash can of his room. She opened the cyanide bottle, and tipped the bottle over to pour the contents out, but none was found.

"There's no cyanide in this thing, that's weird, right?" she asked me. "Perhaps someone used it all to spike something of Rikiya's."

"What?"

"Rikiya leaves a can of open beer out in the open. Hideaki using his skills as a spy, was watching over him, and then poured this cyanide in. Leaving, Rikiya took the beer, and took a huge gulp of it. When I was working on my detective movie, "Agent Shelly Works," I learned that cyanide would kill in one to fifteen minutes."

"S-so?" She's really accusing Hideaki of this murder?

"Remember when Rikiya ran in? He threw away his can of beer, finishing it. The cyanide would've sunk to the bottom, and fifteen minutes later, the lights went out. We all think the murder physically happened there, but there was no sign of any poison being forced into him at that time, because he's already been poisoned. Check and mate."

I looked at Saya with contempt on my face. "There's no way Hideaki could kill," I said. "He – he might have been working for Monokuma, but he couldn't kill one of us! There's no way!"

"Save your breath," Saya sighed. "I told you that sentimentality is going to hurt you one day. I suppose this class trial will be quite the shocker to you, won't it?" Saya left, leaving me to ponder her words. If cyanide was indeed found in Hideaki's room, would that lead to him being the killer? But no, when we went to check on Hideaki last time, he wasn't in his room. That means someone could have easily planted it. But just as easily, could it mean that Hideaki went to poison someone else.

My mind was buzzing with questions, without any answers. I was lost in a different world, a world of betrayal and endless despair, but was it all because of him? Betrayal from him, suspicion about him, everything seemed to revolve around him nowadays, and it was driving me insane that I couldn't solve any of my problems involving "him."

I had to check the infirmary quick though. If what Saya was talking about were true, then there would be something I could find in that bottle of beer that Rikiya threw away. Either way, this cyanide had to be important.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

12: Cyanide: Cyanide found in Hideaki's room. Presumably the murder weapon, being spiked in Rikiya's beer.

* * *

_**Location: Infirmary | Time: 10:40 PM | Chapter Four**_

It was time.

I peered into the trash can, and took out the bottle of beer. I took a flashlight, and tried to see as much as I could in the darkness beneath the opening. Sure enough, I saw something resembling traces of cyanide. Traces of poison, at the very least.

I dropped the can into the trash, as the wounded looked at me with odd faces. This could only mean one thing, couldn't it?

Hideaki was definitely the murderer?

I looked at the doors opening to the infirmary. There was just no way… no way at all, right?

* * *

_**Location: Control Panel | Time: 10:50 AM | Chapter Four**_

I remember something Monokuma said about our investigation. The control panel that had previously been locked is now open for investigative purposes. It'd be a waste not to go there, and at the very least I could find out how they managed to switch off the light. Heading to the control panel, I found the switch to turn off all electricity was controlled all by one lever. Pull it, and the electricity shuts off. To test it, I pulled he lever down, and immediately pulled it back up.

I looked on the floor, and I noticed a huge piece of stone on the floor. What would that be for?

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

13: Stone: Found on the floor of the control panel. Slightly chipped.

I noticed that there was a string tied around the stone. Picking it up, I noticed that the string was hidden against the wall, and it led to the corner of a room – an alarm clock that fell on the floor.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

14: String: A piece of string found on stone is also tied to the alarm clock.

15: Alarm Clock: An old alarm clock found broken on the floor of the control panel.

Okay, think Ayako, what could have happened here? That's what I asked myself, and I tried to think like a killer. I tried to think of clichés. First, the alarm clock is on the floor and broken. There was no way to tell that it broke immediately, but there wasn't any dust on it to suggest that it didn't. I looked back at the string. It extended all the way to the floor, and there were tons of loose string that looped around. Not sure what this meant, I realized what could've happened. The alarm clock was set to fifteen minutes, and as it rang, the string fell, and the stone dropped, pulling the trigger. This was fairly similar to Kichiro's trap, meaning that the person who tripped the electricity and the attacker must have been the same person!

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Um, you guys? Are you done yet? I worked so hard for that Monokuma File, but it doesn't look like you guys are working hard at all! As punishment, we are starting the class trial. KK? Coolio. Bonjour!"_

The gazebo… is where I'd find out the truth. To this murder. To Hideaki.

Walking to the gazebo, I saw Hideaki right in front of me. He was right there, and I could ask him for the truth. I could get him to spill it out, whether or not he really did kill Rikiya, but there was a doubt in the back of my mind that didn't want to believe it. Just cause of one bottle found in his room doesn't mean anything, does it? I just don't want to believe it, that's the case, isn't it?

I stepped onto the gazebo, with everyone waiting for the others, and Monokuma pulled down the lever. I looked at Hideaki's face – not a sign of worry. Instead, it was the same grim face that greeted me when I first met him.

Would I wipe that expression off and give him a new one of hope, or fear?

It was time to find out in…

The class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter 4: Class Trial**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#14

Monokuma: Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!  
Monokuma: Reduce the amounts of corpses wasting the earth and planting rotten bugs underground by burning their bodies instead!

Monokuma: Reuse bodies for elaborate murder cases by storing their bodies and making sure they don't rot and disgust the hell out of people!  
Monokuma: Recycle and neatly but the bodies in the dumpster without showing any body parts!  
Monokuma: The magic three!


	16. Chapter 4: Class Trial

**AN: Reply to HopeorDespair (since he asked for it ^^)**

**HopeorDespair: Thank you for reviewing! I appreciate the suggestion, and I will consider it, but I won't go too far since Ayako is supposed to resemble this archetype of a hopeful character, like all DR main characters are (or I assume because I never played SDR2 but really want to ^^). And about Hideaki, well, you'll find that all in the class trial ;). For future references, like your suggestion for a double murder on one of your last reviews, the story is already planned out. A.K.A, the killers are solid and haven't changed so far. Whatever is coming up is planned, so changing up the main plot will be going against how I've developed the story. However, I really appreciate your suggestions! Perhaps they'll help for future installations ;)**

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! Monokuma will recap you now with my trademark board!

Monokuma: Investigations have come to a halt, but Saya has put even more doubt in Ayako's mind about the credibility of Hideaki!

Monokuma: Is he the killer for this case? Is he a "baaad" mole? Let's find out, upupupu!

* * *

==The death of Rikiya Emiya!==A madman attacks the group of students, injuring many!==Is the culprit really Hideaki?==

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **fourth** class trial! You know the drill!

Monokuma: Finger the TRUE villain, and the villain will be PUNISHED, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the WRONG villain, and instead, YOU GUYS will be PUNISHED¸ leaving your deceiver to leave, FREE & CLEAR!

Monokuma: Hmm, now what should be first on our to-do list today?

Hideaki: We should first discuss the process of the attacks, and find how they were carried out.

Saya: What would be the point of that?

Hideaki: One contradiction can easily lead to the light.

Takako: T-that's real rich, coming from the mole to the puppetmaster!

Hideaki: What?

Takako: Y-you're working with Monokuma! You're going to try and kill us aren't you!

Takako: You're leading us off the wrong track!

Monokuma: Damn! You got us!

Hideaki: No, you didn't. Takako, please believe me, I'm not –

Takako: Shut up, you mole!

Hideaki: Takako…

Taisuke: Whether or not Hideaki is against or with us, that might as well come up in this trial!

Saya: We'll decide that later. Right now, we have to talk about the subject at hand.

Senji: Whose attack should we discuss first?

Miyu: M-maybe we should go in order, so Kyouko's first, then Kichiro's, then so on…

Kichiro: Alright, so we're gonna talk about Kyouko's first… Let's see…

Ayako: _Something has to come up while talking about these attacks._

Ayako: _Otherwise, we're all going to be killed, and there's no way I can die now!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Senji: Let's first go over through how Kyouko was attacked…

Kyouko: I was getting a **bike from the bike shop**, and then all of a sudden…

Kyouko: …someone came up from behind me and stabbed me with a pair of scissors.

Hideaki: I heard you telling –

Takako: Y-you mole!

Hideaki: Anyways, I heard you telling Ayako that you went into a little bit of shock?

Kyouko: **Yeah, I didn't see the face of my attacker.**

Miyu: S-so, when you were stabbed, how serious was it?

Saya: I presume it was **quite brutal****,** with a pair of scissors.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Bike & Chain_]

Ayako: I don't think it was as brutal as you think, Saya.

Saya: Are you correcting me, low-life?

Ayako: Um, anyways…

Ayako: I specifically remember investigating the scene of the crime, and there wasn't any blood anywhere. Not even on the bike & chain.

Rin: Hahaha, what? Objection! Objection!

Ayako: Objection?

Rin: See, hmm, let's see here? When I arrived, Kyouko was holding the scissors, right?!

Kyouko: S-so?

Rin: You bitch! How is it possible that you didn't spread any blood!

Kyouko: Huh?

Rin: Let's see, if I took out scissors, I either would have A: dropped the scissors, therefore spreading blood, or B: I would lean against something that caused blood to drop.

Kyouko: W-well yeah…

Rin: But not only that, where did the scissors go, huh? Did they fucking disappear?

Ayako: Oh! Y-yeah, the scissors!

Hideaki: I'd hate to admit it, but that does bring up a good point. Kyouko, you would've known where the scissors disappeared too, wouldn't you?

Kyouko: H-h-h-h-h-huh? N-n-n-n-no of course not!

Rin: Why you acting so scared?!

Kichiro: Kyouko, the hell? What did you do with the scissors!

Kyouko: I-I'm sorry! The killer made me!

Saya: What was that?

Kyouko: It was blackmail! Freaking blackmail! If I didn't dispose of evidence, she would've killed everyone!

Saya: So what's stopping you now?

Kyouko: U-u-u-u-u-uh!

Hideaki: Wait, before we put Kyouko on the spot, we should investigate Kichiro's attack.

Ayako: And then Saya's?

Kichiro: Tch!

Saya: Hmph.

Hideaki: I'm not sure if Kouichi's is linked to these attacks though, simply because there would be nothing to act as an incentive for him, is there?

Kouichi: W-well…

Kouichi: Wait! I admit it! The killer talked to me too!

Hideaki: What?!

Senji: Saya, Kichiro, did you ever confront the killer at any point? On the other hand, did the killer approach you?

Saya: …

Kichiro: …

Saya: Yes.

Kichiro: Uh, y-yeah, actually…

Ayako: Huh?

Hideaki: Then why did you keep that information from us?

Saya: It's embarrassing for me to say it…

Kyouko: W-wait, what did the attacker say to you?

Kouichi: I was attacked randomly, so the attacker didn't speak to me.

Kichiro: B-but the attacker said something to me too!

Miyu: What did the killer say to you guys?

Saya: I suppose if anyone's going to say it, I should.

Saya: The attacker told me she was in cahoots with Hideaki.

Hideaki: That's ridiculous. Of course I'm not.

Kyouko: Hold on! That's what the attacker said to me too!

Hideaki: Y-you believed that?

Kichiro: The attacker sorta told me that, too.

Hideaki: I-I see… So you all don't trust me anymore.

Saya: We just found out that you were a mole to Monokuma. Don't know what else to expect.

Kichiro: S-sorry dude, I guess.

Hideaki: Don't apologize when you don't mean it...

Kyouko: A-anyways… what the attacker said to me…

Kyouko: Was that if I helped in any way in the conviction of him…

Kyouko: Hideaki would kill me.

Saya: We had no reason to not believe the attacker.

Hideaki: You can trust me that I won't, so reveal the attacker already.

Kyouko: Uh… one problem for me.

Kichiro: The killer had a masked voice, and it was in complete darkness for me.

Kyouko: Y-yeah, I couldn't tell the identity of the attacker by his voice…

Hideaki: His?

Kyouko: W-well, it sounded like a guys.

Kyouko: Plus, he was wearing a mask when I saw it.

Ayako: _You told me you couldn't tell because you were in shock, not cause of a mask…_

Saya: In any case, we still need to find out the identity of that attacker, don't we?

Hideaki: At least we got that out of the way, now let's continue our discussion.

Ayako: _Okay, so the attacker attacked these guys._

Ayako: _The attacker masked his voice and was able to divert all of their attentions._

Ayako: _This is going to be a tricky trial._

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: The killer's identity, **who is he?**

Saya: This is of course, assuming the attacker and the assailant of Rikiya are the same person.

Kyouko: We know he's a **guy…**

Miyu: A-and you said that he was wearing a **mask…**

Saya: Perhaps we should look at this from another perspective.

Hideaki: What do you mean?  
Saya: We are assuming that the attacker and the killer are the same person. However…

Rin: Wasn't like that with Noburu and I! Ahahaha!

Saya: Y-yes… So in any case…

Saya: We need some evidence of the _killer_'s identity, not the attacker.

Miyu: B-but, **do we really have any?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Cyanide_]

Ayako: Actually, we have something that might be a lead to the killer.

Hideaki: Ayako?

Saya: I thought this would come up… Go on Ayako, explain yourself.

Ayako: Uh, well, you see…

Ayako: The Monokuma File reads that Rikiya was killed with poisoning.

Ayako: Rikiya's time of death was 9:59 PM, wasn't it? Rikiya had thrown away a can of beer that he had been drinking at least fifteen minutes before then.

Saya: Cyanide does indeed kill in one to fifteen minutes with the right amount of dosage.

Hideaki: Where did you find this bottle?

Ayako: You see, that's the weird part.

Ayako: I, first, did not find it.

Ayako: But Saya did – in your room.

Hideaki: In my room? I see. So the killer is trying to frame me?

Takako: O-or maybe you're trying to push the blame on someone else!

Hideaki: I'm not doing anything.

Takako: How can we t-tell whether or not the killer was trying to frame you? What if you are the killer?!

Hideaki: Tch, I already told you, I'm not untrustworthy.

Hideaki: Ayako, do you think I did it?

Ayako: …

Ayako: For now, let's just try to reach a conclusion.

Hideaki: …Yeah, okay.

Ayako: _Hideaki, I don't want to believe it._

Ayako: _But I won't let any suspect escape. I'll find out the truth!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kouichi: Well, right now, we know that two things could have happened.

Kouichi: One being that Hideaki is actually the killer…

Kichiro: …or that someone planted the cyanide in his room, right?

Suguru: **C-couldn't have someone got the cyanide from the medicine cabinet?**

Roger: Bark!

Saya: If any of those three scenarios are true… two of them points to Hideaki as the murderer.

Hideaki: Unfortunately, I'm not the culprit in this case.

Takako: W-we'll see! We'll see what happens!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Cabinet_]

Ayako: Actually, the cabinet couldn't have been used.

Hideaki: Ayako's right. I used an old trick and put a piece of paper between the cabinet doors. It wasn't long before Rikiya died, so the killer shouldn't have noticed.

Suguru: O-oh… Did you hear that Roger? Guess I was wrong then.

Roger: Bark!

Hideaki: Anyways, seeing as the cyanide wasn't taken from the infirmary, there is one other possible place it was taken from.

Saya: Which is?

Hideaki: I'm referring to the science room. It isn't hard to believe that dangerous chemicals would be stored there.

Miyu: T-that means anyone could have taken it?

Hideaki: No, it would have to be long before Rikiya's death, seeing as it happened in a fifteen minute frame.

Kichiro: We really aren't getting anywhere with this, huh?

Saya: I can't believe how much times I've heard that.

Ayako: There are still some topics we can cover.

Suguru: Like?

Ayako: First off, the lights that shut off, during which Rikiya was killed.

Hideaki: That would have had to have required a precise knowledge about the chemical, as well as knowledge of how to trip electricity.

Ayako: Never mind a little luck on top of that.

Saya: Also, in addition to that, we still did not discuss Kichiro or my attack just yet, did we?

Ayako: As long as we can still talk about those things, we still have a chance to catch the killer.

Saya: Very well. Then let's start with my attack.

Ayako: _Something has to come from this._

Ayako: _We can't get in an even tighter spot than this!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: I was going to Hideaki's room to check up on him. I **knocked on the door…**

Saya: **Yet he was missing. **The door was also unlocked, so I headed inside.

Hideaki: Is that when you found the cyanide in my room?

Saya: Yes, and when I left the room with the cyanide, I closed the door…

Saya: …and my hand was stabbed to a wall.

Kichiro: Is that when you were struck with something, to?

Saya: Honestly, I don't know what the attacker was thinking.

Suguru: What happened next?

Saya: The attacker told me Hideaki would kill me if I didn't help. The end.

Saya: **Facing the attacker was horrible, really…**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Saya's Testimony_]

Ayako: Saya, when you say, "facing the attacker," do you mean you looked at the attacker?

Saya: I couldn't see its face because of the mask. What of it?

Ayako: That's strange, because I could've sworn that you told you first…

Ayako: …that you were attacked from behind.

Saya: Tch!

Hideaki: Perhaps she was lying to you?

Ayako: No, she wasn't. I know this because she was facing the wall when she was stabbed.

Saya: W-well…

Ayako: I don't think you had a _bad_ reason to lie to me, but I'd like to know why you did.

Kouichi: Saya, s-spit it out already!

Saya: Alright! Fine, you peasants.

Saya: I just forgot about that minor detail, that's all!

Ayako: What minor detail?

Saya: That I was facing the killer. That's what I forgot.

Ayako: How do you forget that?!

Saya: Never mind.

Hideaki: I doubt that Saya is telling the truth… but if she is, we just need to play off of that.

Ayako: Can you tell us about what the attacker looked like?

Saya: S-sure, fine!

Ayako: _Saya, if you're lying…_

Ayako: _The truth should be revealed here._

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: Well we already know that the killer was wearing a **mask.**

Hideaki: Did anyone find that **mask?**

Saya: I don't believe so. Anyways…

Saya: The attacker was rather **short** in physique as well.

Saya: **His face was round…**

Saya: He wore a uniform…

Saya: That's it.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The statement: "mask"_]

Ayako: Wait a minute! You couldn't determine any facial features, could you?

Saya: Don't be stupid.

Ayako: No, you just told us that the attacker was wearing a mask!

Saya: Oh, yeah, so? P-peasant!

Ayako: Why are you lying to us?

Rin: Come on, you crazy actor bitch! Spit the truth out!

Saya: Please, I don't need to reveal myself to a crazy psycho.

Hideaki: You do for the rest of us, Saya. Why were you lying to us?

Hideaki: Do you still think I'm working with the real killer?

Saya: No, it's not because of that. I was really only lying about the face.

Ayako: You mean with the mask? But again, why were you?

Saya: I wasn't lying about anything else. The attacker's physique was genuine.

Kouichi: You keep avoiding the subject! Stop that!

Senji: Kouichi is right, Saya. I ask that you please just tell us what we want to hear already.

Ayako: This is important Saya, you _need_ to tell us!

Saya: I don't need to tell anything to you peasants!

Ayako: _She keeps holding the truth from us! Why is that?_

Ayako: _I guess I have to squeeze the truth from her myself, don't I?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: I'm not hiding anything from you peasants! **Back off!**

Hideaki: You can't tell us why you are lying then?

Saya: I already told you, I wasn't it. How many times **do I have to say it?**

Saya: There's absolutely **nothing** that would cause me to lie!

Hideaki: Let's say that you were somehow involved in this murder…

Kouichi: …that would also be a lie, wouldn't it?

Taisuke: Perhaps she IS involved in this murder, no?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Cyanide_]

Ayako: Saya, I have a feeling I know why you're hiding the truth from us.

Saya: I'm not hiding anything!

Ayako: That cyanide in Hideaki's room… did you plant it?

Saya: Tch!

Ayako: If so, why would you?

Saya: I'm sorry… the attacker demanded me to put it in a room.

Ayako: W-wow… down without a fight, huh?

Saya: Honestly, lowering myself to the degree of apologizing to peasants like you… its heart breaking for me.

Ayako: But why Hideaki's room?

Saya: Two reasons. One was for convenience, seeing as I was attacked in front of his room.

Saya: Two, because I suspected Hideaki of being the attacker.

Ayako: What?

Saya: I wasn't lying when I said the killer had a rather short physique. I doubt a woman could have done all of this.

Saya: Hideaki, as we all know, possesses more strength that we think.

Saya: As a spy, he could easily set this all up.

Saya: That's why I planted it in his room.

Saya: This would also explain his disappearance from his room.

Hideaki: …

Ayako: T-that all makes sense, but… Hideaki wouldn't have!

Hideaki: Ayako?

Ayako: I… I still… I still trust him.

Hideaki: !

Ayako: S-so… I know he wouldn't have!

Saya: Don't let sentimentality get in the way of things. It all still matches up, with Hideaki's disappearance.

Hideaki: No, I was attacked too, remember? I wouldn't have done it, or been able to.

Saya: You could have easily attacked yourself.

Hideaki: Should I be the attacker, most likely I would've to divert attention from myself.

Hideaki: However, I wouldn't have done something so ridiculous as to stabbing my own eye.

Saya: Right, I forgot about _that_ injury.

Kouichi: S-so your saying that you didn't do it?

Hideaki: That's correct. I am not the culprit.

Saya: However, we should probably now talk about Kichiro's attack. I believe we are done with mine.

Kichiro: Mine, huh? I might as well…

Ayako: _If Kichiro is hiding something as well…_

Ayako: _I'd find out, right here!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kichiro: I was attacked by this elaborate trap, right?

Kichiro: I ran down to the boiler room t'see if Kyouko was attacked there…

Kichiro: I **stepped on a pedal,** and a net grabbed me and held me suspended.

Kichiro: That's when I got an arrow in my leg, too.

Hideaki: That was… quite an elaborate trap, wasn't it?

Kichiro: I was a little surprised too. Wasn't exactly a normal thing, now was it?

Kichiro: Then, the killer told me that Hideaki was in cahoots, and that I was to speak of this to no one.

Kichiro: I didn't know why the attacker wanted me to, but I shut up.

Suguru: **That's when you saw the killer's face?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Kichiro's Testimony_]

Ayako: This is a simple one; he couldn't see the killer's face because the room was pitch dark.

Suguru: O-oh, yeah.

Roger: Bark!

Kichiro: He still disguised his voice and stuff, I won't deny that.

Hideaki: Okay, Kichiro, try to remember anything else before we move on.

Kichiro: Well, I told Ayako this, but the killer was definitely waiting for someone to come.

Hideaki: That's a given, seeing as the attacker talked to you.

Kichiro: R-right, and I remember something else.

Kichiro: I heard something that the attacker had drop.

Kichiro: I could see a shadow pick something up, than run away.

Hideaki: …I see.

Hideaki: Let's now talk about one thing. How was it that this attacker new cyanide would kill?

Takako: Maybe it was Saya! She w-worked in a movie before!

Ayako: No, it couldn't have been Saya.

Saya: I don't imagine that I would know how to make lights flicker on and off.

Hideaki: But I imagine I know who would.

Ayako: Whoever would be able to know how to work lights, and the knowledge of cyanide?

* * *

**/=/=/phase eight\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Ayako: Okay, so now, we have the chance to make an **accusation?**

Hideaki: Think. The only person other than Saya who'd know about the cyanide, and the knowledge to trap up lights.

Kichiro: The dropping noise that was made when I was attacked might count for something too.

Saya: Let's see, out of all of us, there is **Ayako, me, Hideaki, Takako, Kouichi, Senji, Taisuke, Kichiro, Kyouko, Rin, and Suguru.**

Rin: Now you guess reader! Guess right now! Who the fuck is the murderer?!

Ayako: Who are you talking too?

Rin: Guess!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The statement: "accusation."_]

Ayako: I think… it might be Takako.

Takako: Whaaaat?!

Senji: It's true that a tutor might have the knowledge about the dangerous nature of poisons and electricity…

Senji: However, I'm not 100% on-board with that.

Takako: Y-y-y-yeah! Senji's with me!

Hideaki: Why do you think Takako is a great teacher? Is it just because she's a naturally gifted person, or is there something "different" about her?

Ayako: Different?

Saya: If there is something different about her, then it would might make more sense how she knows all this stuff.

Ayako: _Something different about Takako?_

Ayako: _I'm… not sure what it is._

* * *

**/=/=/phase nine\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

** C**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: Takako, do you by any chance, have a photographic memory?

Takako: H-huh?

Hideaki: If Takako were to have a photographic memory…

Hideaki: …it's very possible she knows about how to do something like that with the lights.

Saya: And the information about the cyanide.

Takako: L-l-liars!

Takako: I didn't do it! Show me proof!

Ayako: You are the only one who wears glasses regularly here, other than Senji.

Senji: I, however, know nothing about poisons.

Takako: What do my glasses have to do with this?!

Kichiro: Are you sayin' I heard Takako's glasses fall off her face?

Hideaki: It's not very likely, but possible.

Kichiro: I'm not sure if I have that good of hearing…

Ayako: Well, Takako?

Saya: You also showed us a clear motive by attacking us; your worry about Hideaki.

Hideaki: Tch…

Takako: Uhh…

Takako: UhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhhuhuhuhuhuhuhHUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!

Takako: NONONONONONONONONONO!

Takako: SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!

Ayako: _She's talking so fast, I don't think I can keep up with her…_

Takako: I'LLHURTYOUALL! I'MNOTTHEFUCKINGKILLERYOUHEAR?!

Kouichi: Um, do you have to talk so slurred?

Takako: SHUTUP! SHUT YOUR FACE!

Saya: At least she's talking semi-normally now…

Suguru: Y-you know, whenever someone freaks out like this, they're usually the killer, aren't they?

Takako: Uh! Huh?! No, no, I don't believe it!

Hideaki: What don't you believe?

Takako: Uhuhuhuhuh….

Takako: Aha! Aha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Takako: I have an alibi! I have an alibi don't I?

Ayako: Augh!

Hideaki: W-well, is that true, Ayako?!

Hideaki: Does Takako have an alibi?

Ayako: Y-yeah… unfortunately, but…

Ayako: _I… I know she's the killer._

Ayako: _She wouldn't have acted so defensive then! Let's find something and get her!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase ten\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

_Ayako vs. Takako_

Takako: "You're lying!"

Takako: "I'm a fucking teacher!"

Takako: "You can stick it up your ass!"

Takako: "SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"

Takako: "What are you trying to say?!"

Takako: "I'm the killer?!"

Takako: "AHA! AHAHA!"

Takako: "**I have a fucking alibi! Y-y-you can't disprove that!**"

_Piece of ammo used: "Trap Mechanism"_

* * *

Ayako: While this is the case for Kyouko and Kichiro's attacks…

Ayako: It's definitely possible that you attacked Kyouko then slipped in with the crowd.

Takako: T-then what about for Kichiro's attacks?! What are you going to say for there?

Ayako: What if you somehow found a way to record a voice, then set it up for a trap?

Takako: …

Ayako: You're being silent. Did I hit the nail on the head?

Hideaki: So she'd use it with the tape recorder from Monokuma's last incentive?

Takako: B-but for Saya's attack –

Ayako: We all split up then to look for the others. You don't have a proper alibi for that.

Kyouko: Admit it, Takako!

Suguru: Roger hates you now!

Roger: Bark!

Takako: Y-y-you…

Takako: You can't just discover that just by one thought you had!

Ayako: Then should I tell you how the crime happened?

Ayako: I'll shove it in your face, Takako!

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!**_

Ayako: To start this case, this case first started when Takako attacked the others to stir up confusion within us. First, she attacked Kyouko. Then she attacked Kichiro, setting up a trap. Then she attacked Saya, and then she stabbed Kouichi. In the end, Takako told everyone that she was in cahoots with Hideaki, exploiting our fear of him being a mole to Monokuma, meaning the purpose of all those attacks were ultimately made to confuse us. However, she told Saya one thing. She wanted Saya to plant cyanide in anyone's room. However, Saya suspected the attacker to be Hideaki. Being right in front of Hideaki's room, I came and freed Saya. She then went in and planted the cyanide under my nose. Returning to the infirmary to stop others from being attacked, the lights suddenly went out. This was all because of an elaborate trap, so to speak. An alarm clock was actually on the floor of the control panel, and as it rang, it caused a stone connected by string to fall onto the lever controlling the electricity. Then, Rikiya appeared dead in front of us, throwing up blood due to being poisoned by cyanide, which can kill in one to fifteen minutes. It has been approximately fifteen minutes when Rikiya had drunk the beer, which had already been pre-spiked with poison. This all happened because Takako knew all these things. Of course, that was possible, because…

Ayako: …the killer is the Super Highschool Level Tutor, right Takako?!

* * *

_**Fourth class trial complete! Live to see another day!**_

This all happened because of our fear. Was that our incentive this time? Fear? Monokuma successfully used Hideaki's leave as his mole to his advantage. How sickening was that? The saddest thing was that we all fell for it. The four that were attacked were tricked by Takako to be afraid of Hideaki. Takako _herself_ murdered because of her fear about Hideaki.

Takako sank to the floor, took off her glasses, and cleaned them. She was in obvious denial – she had set up the perfect crime. But our talents dug her to her grave. Takako shook her head, and got up, running towards Hideaki. Takako tried to land a punch on Hideaki, but he easily dodged her attacks. He had no longer been that Hideaki that I got to know – someone with a deeper side to him with locked up emotions. He returned as the same gloomy grim person that I saw the first day I met him. He wore a grim face as Takako threw punches at him, but he just dodged it, without a care for her emotion.

How bad is death, I wonder? Or at least in our current situation, I wonder how bad it actually is. Trapped in an awful zoo for Monokuma to watch over and watch us kill each other – is this kind of death really a bad thing? Is it just that I want to get out? Have I done something wrong to be in this? I wonder if it was just revenge for something.

"Why do people keep dying?" I said, my thoughts talking for themselves. "Why do you people keep killing? Why? What's so wrong with us? Are you really afraid of death so much, Takako?" Takako looked at me, and growled.

"You're not going to die," she said. "Or at least not yet. You think that, you keep thinking that, but you don't know how it really feels to be on the edge of losing your life! I needed to get out! I have somewhere to be! So shut the fuck up, you bitch! You don't know anything about me! If I did it again, I would've killed you! You heard me! You FUCKING HEARD ME!" Takako threw herself to the floor.

"If you guys would like to hear a tragic backstory, feel welcome to ask," Monokuma swooned. "Each and every one of you has a deep and dark backstory, but for now, let's discuss why Takako had a pretty stinky childhood."

I never remembered a dark backstory for me, but Monokuma continued talking. Monokuma took out a chalkboard, and sketched what he was saying to us as he simultaneously told us Takako's tragedy.

"As a child, this kid was so weird," Monokuma started. "She was made fun of _all_ the time, and she passed all classes and everything with top marks. She was like that cliché loser you see in a highschool movie, and you know what? She felt dead inside. She was crying every day. So far, this story doesn't sound so tragic, does it? It sounds like a typical whiny highschool life of an unpopular geek. But things changed when people began to use her. They were able to secretly _abuse_ her. They took pictures, if you know what I mean, and used that for blackmail. That's why she entered this school! So she can escape from a bunch of those bastards on the outside! But now, she wanted to get out, because she swore one thing. She had a cool little bro, and those two were like best friends. But the little bro got cancer, you see! He wanted to be smart and so cool like his big sis, but unfortunately, his cancer sort of got him in the hospital a lot! Maybe, just maybe, if Takako got away with this crime, she would've been able to say goodbye to your brother!"

"Goodbye?" Takako said. "I wouldn't need to say goodbye if I got out, you dumb bear!"

"What's that?" Monokuma asked. "You didn't know? I guess you wouldn't, since you're trapped in this place, but it's more than likely that your brother is dead!"

"What?!"

"It's more than likely that your mommy is dead too! Your daddy as well!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "Shut up!"

"Oh, come now," Monokuma swooned, "at least you'll be able to see them again! You're gonna die, and you're gonna fly straight to Heaven, aren't you?" Takako looked horrified, and looked up at Monokuma.

"But I killed someone," she said. "Setsuna said that was the biggest sin. I've committed a horrible sin! I'm not going to Heaven!"

"That's right!" Monokuma said. "I forgot that He is probably really pissed at you for killing off an innocent teenage sailing drinker! But hey, you can meet Rikiya in hell too, okay?" Monokuma laughed some more, and Takako fearfully watched as Monokuma put up the slot machine. Three faces showed up, Takako's, and Monokuma nodded.

"I guess when I told you Takako's backstory, it was pretty damn obvious that this chick is the killer, huh?" We all watched as Monokuma brought out his gavel, and slammed it against a red button, signaling Takako's execution.

* * *

Takako was placed in the teacher's seat in a room filled with Monokumas acting as students. A bunch of pop quizzes landed on Takako's desk, each showing a 0% failure. The Monokumas got enraged, but all Takako could whimper was, "help me." One Monokuma got a bright idea! He entered the closet, took out a box, and opened. Inside the box, he took out bundles and bundles of… metersticks! Tons of metersticks were handed out, and the Monokumas approached Takako, each with a hostile intention to commit…

**REALLY COOL METERSTICK TORTURE!**

One Monokuma fiercely hit Takako in the head. Another did the same, and the rest of the Monokumas painfully slammed their metersticks on Takako's head. They slammed it for who knows how long, and eventually, Takako slumped to the floor, her head completely mortified by the bludgeons of metersticks. One Monokuma then got whiteout, and proceeded to correct all the tests, giving us all a thumbs up as we watched from the sidelines, horrified.

* * *

"Ah!" Monokuma sighed. "Doesn't a silly execution like that, just fill you with warmth?" Monokuma laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more, as we all just stared at Takako's body, beaten to death by rulers. What the hell was that?!

"Anyways, Hideaki," Monokuma said, "is this not proof?" Hideaki looked at Monokuma with a glare, and as Monokuma laughed some more, he continued speaking. "No, no, laughter does not spread! There is no thing as laughing spreading! If you're watching a funny video, your laughing cause the video is funny, not cause someone is laughing beside you! You see, none of you found that execution to be particularly funny! That's insulting, you know?"

Hideaki clenched his fist, and pointed his finger at Monokuma.

"Hear me out, Monokuma," Hideaki said. "I don't want you touching my family, but even if you don't, I'll find you, and I will kill you. I will destroy this organization known as despair!"

Despair? An organization?

"Whatever!" Monokuma sighed. "You say that, but despair's going to spread like wildfire soon. You'll see, you'll all see!" Monokuma disappeared from thin sight, laughing, leaving our heads to wonder what he was talking about. As silence swept the room, to our surprise, Taisuke broke the quiet.

"Don't worry, my friends!" Taisuke said, raising a finger. "I have something quite dangerous to Monokuma right now!" Taisuke rose up an ace card, and smirked.

"I'm not just a con artist."

_**Continued in Chapter 5: (n)everyday life**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#15

Monokuma: I've noticed that jazz singers scare me.

Monokuma: They always growl, and I always wonder:  
Monokuma: How the hell can they growl when they aren't bears like me?

Monokuma: Rawr! See, even I can't do it well! Not at all!


	17. Chapter 5: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_No More Apologies_

(n)everyday life

**AN: Sorry for not updating yesterday, went to the beach.**

**HopeorDespair: I might do the survivor list thing at the end, but I've came so far. Don't worry, I'll think about it.**

Another month had passed from that trial. The academy was beginning to show its true colors. We were all beginning to learn what's really hidden within these academy walls, or fences to be literal. Taisuke rose up that same ace card that he traded with Monokuma, but what was so important about that card? Secondly, how did he get it back? Confusion sprang from all directions, but all of us agreed it was time to face the puppetmaster. None of us had any murderous intention anymore. It was soon enough time to face the puppetmaster himself. I glanced at my watch as Monokuma's morning announcement started, and I got ready to meet with the others.

Walking into the cafeteria, I was greeted by all my friends – the group of real friends I had. Even I was able to warm up to this insane Rin, though I would be lying if I said I preferred this one over the old one I knew. Rin laughed and did a backflip, surprising many of us. Getting my breakfast, I sat down at the table as Taisuke took out the ace card. I looked around, but Hideaki was nowhere to be found.

"I cannot talk about this much here," Taisuke said.

"Why not?" Kouichi asked. "It's just a card, isn't it?" Taisuke shook his head, and glanced at the cameras. Monokuma would be able to hear whether or not we're plotting things.

"What are we going to do then?" I asked. "We can't talk about it."

"I got it!" Suguru exclaimed. "We could break the cameras!"

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Woah, woah, WOAH!" Monokuma said. "Slow down there, animal planet! There will be no breaking of the cameras in my school, okay?"_

Defiantly, Taisuke grabbed the nearest plate, and flung it straight towards the camera. It spun rapidly in a circle as it cracked the lens of the yellow camera. Taisuke grabbed another plate, and destroyed another camera. I would imagine that Monokuma would be coming soon, because Kouichi was cowering under the table, hiding from the deviled bear. Soon enough, Monokuma arrived, opened the cafeteria doors, and took out a humongous shotgun.

"Eep!" Kouichi screamed.

"H-he has a shotgun!" Miyu screamed. "What is this?!"

"I'm going to kill that camera breaking card stealing asshole over there!" Monokuma said. "I'm going to rip his lungs out and use the air left in them as fucking bongs!"

Taisuke held up his hands, and used his pointed finger to point at Monokuma.

"I did not break any rules, however," Taisuke said. "All I did was destroy some of the cameras. No rule against that!" Monokuma looked at Taisuke, who looked at Monokuma back with a curious face. This was intense; Taisuke was challenging Monokuma to a game of logic.

"You asshole," Monokuma said. "Fine! Well it's a rule now, so you can check the rulebook via your phones!" Sure enough, my phone rang with a text, informing us of a brand new rule.

_You may not break any cameras._

Upon reading this text, Taisuke went outside for a few minutes, and came back later with a large sledgehammer. Balancing it against a wall, Taisuke immediately swung the hammer like a baseball bat, causing a huge hole to show up. Inside was a modified wiretap, programmed to record our voices, and Taisuke yanked it out of the wall, and destroyed it with the hammer. Soon enough, Monokuma arrived, angrier than before.

"Yo!" he snapped. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Rules don't say anything about the microphones in the wall," Taisuke said. "Want to add it?"

"Holy hell!" Monokuma said. "You are getting on my last nerves!" Monokuma escaped, and a few moments later, we got a new text which was an update of the rule we just god.

_Don't fucking break any school stuff! Assholes!_

"Not very professional," Taisuke sighed, closing his phone. Taisuke raised a finger, and pointed at one of the cameras.

"That's the only functioning camera left," Taisuke said. "I imagine though that Monokuma will replace them, eventually."

"Why did you break them then?" I asked.

"It's fun," Taisuke replied. "Besides, it costs Monokuma money anyways. His pain is our fortune."

"I-I'm so glad," Miyu said. "That we're all friends here…"

"Don't worry," Kichiro followed up, "no one is going to die anymore. None of us want to kill each other."

"None of us?" Saya asked. "Let's not speak for Hideaki."

Hideaki? I told Saya that he wouldn't kill anyone tons of times before. The fact that Saya is still antagonizing Hideaki was driving me insane. I looked at Saya, and she could see anger in my eyes as she walked past me with a grunt.

"Sentimentality will only hurt you," Saya said, "if I had to count the amount of times I told you that, I don't know how long that would take."

"This has nothing to do with sentimentality," I said. "It's the cold hard fact that Hideaki wouldn't kill anyone."

"I-it's sort of true though that he hasn't interacted with us for a long time," Kouichi said. "I wonder if he holds a grudge against us?"

"Impressive he can hold a grudge for that hold," Kyouko said. "I wouldn't be able to, I mean, it's been around a month since that day, and we already tried to apologize." Kyouko sighed. "I suppose he really is furious at us?"

"Maybe Ayako could talk to him," Miyu said. "Those two were really close, before that day." I looked at the ground at that idea, and I wasn't sure. I was his closest friend, yet I still pushed him away. I didn't trust him like I should have. It was true though that these angry emotions I'm feeling towards him are gone. Instead, it was an empty feeling. This hostile air between him and us was awful.

"I-I could try," I said. "I'm not sure where he would be though."

"He's trying to investigate things about the school," Senji said. "He's hasn't come far at all in the month he's been trying though."

"I really want to know what this card does," Taisuke said. He held it between two fingers, and threw it at me. "Show this to him; maybe he could find something out."

"If you trust him, that is," Saya said. "He was still a mole to Monokuma. He may be now." The room went silent after that, and Taisuke held the card between his two fingers. Now was the time to decide whether I completely trusted him or not. I could take the card, and have faith in Hideaki, or I could leave it, pretending I was never going to show it to him in the first place. "It's your call," Saya sighed, as she sat down. I looked at the card, for who knows how long, and eventually, I reached my hand out, and grabbed at it.

"I trust him," I said, and I took the card.

"Unfortunately, you can only look for Hideaki after lunch," Taisuke said.

"Why?"

"We need to discuss certain matters," he said. "Mostly about whom this madman is. We also should take a better look at the whole campus to see if there are any locked rooms, like the corner shop in front of the gymnasium."

As we split up, Hideaki still remained in my thoughts. I'd meet up with him for sure.

While I was walking around the school, trying to find Hideaki, I tried to remember the new areas that were opened up by Monokuma. From where the boiler room was, there was a fence that was the entrance to a hiking trail. That trail led to the shack where Hideaki and Monokuma were meeting up, though the shack was locked. I tried to get inside, but Monokuma forbid it and added a rule explaining that you could never enter that shack, meaning something inside there was probably important. Continuing along that trail led to a lake and numerous log cabins, which were I guess were used for camping.

That was about the end of what were opened up, and soon after we finished investigating the area, the intercom was ringing, with Monokuma congratulating us for opening up all the areas. That meant nothing except the shack was made accessible, and nothing else was off-limits. However, I attempted to ask Hideaki about what was down there, yet Hideaki avoided me, like the rest of us.

I decided to head down to the log cabin, thinking Hideaki might still be investigating there. On top of that, there is the shack down there that Hideaki might want to infiltrate. I walked with a steady pace down the hill, and looked at the sky. The sky was covered by trees, like green stars blinking in the Earth. It was pretty to watch the trees rustle back and forth, back and forth…

"Ayako?"

I interrupted my train of thought, with the sky escaping my head to be replaced by Hideaki. He was sweating, like he ran twenty miles in under an hour, and almost immediately after he saw me, he tried to walk away. But I didn't spend half an hour walking for him to just walk away.

"You know we're all sorry," I said. "You don't have to keep avoiding us."

"I don't want to be anywhere I'm not trusted," Hideaki replied. "It's been like that for me since I was a child…"

I walked over to him, using my hand to block out the blinding sunlight.

"You don't think we trust you," I said. "Why is that?"

Hideaki shook his head. "I'm not really sure if it's just that. Maybe it's because I'm just a little hurt. Maybe it's because I'm afraid. I really don't know."

Hideaki turned around and stood there, looking at me. I looked at him back, but I didn't know how to comfort him. Could it be because I've never really needed to be comforted? I looked at Hideaki. He looked like he didn't need help at all from the outside, but I could tell by just looking at him for a second, that he was definitely lost.

"Just stop avoiding us," I said. "I don't really know what else to say."

"It's not that easy for me," Hideaki said. "It was like work to talk to you at first, but…"

"But?"

"Never mind," Hideaki said. "Point is I can't take anymore of this."

"This coliseum, you mean?" I asked. "We already agreed. There's no one else here with any murderous intentions."

"It's not that kind of hurt," he said. "You wouldn't understand."

"What don't I understand?" I demanded. "Hideaki, you can't stop pushing people away!"

"It's easier that way for me," he said. "Goodbye, Ayako." Goodbye… This word coming from him triggered a huge reaction from me. I walked to Hideaki, and grabbed his shoulders.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked. "From day one, you've been avoiding us! Avoiding us! I didn't want to stop trusting you! So why can't you just forgive us? We don't want to be so distant from you anymore, Hideaki!"

"Stop," he said.

"No!" I screamed back. "Why do you keep pushing people away?! Why do you keep pushing _me_ away?! Is it because of your past?! You were 'bullied' as a child so this was like a knife in your back to you?!"

"Stop!"

"Stop avoiding us! Stop being so negative all the time! No one likes to see you that way!"

"Quit it! You can't relate to me at all!"

"W-why? I'm just like you, aren't I?" Hideaki didn't respond for a while. It seemed like whatever I said struck a chord in him. He looked down at the floor, his face steadily getting angrier and angrier, until it sounded like he was going to burst into flames. Hideaki grabbed me by the collar, and lifted me up, surprising in the fact that he was able to lift me in the first place, but mostly because I wasn't expecting any of this emotion.

"You think you're like me?!" he screamed. "You don't anything about me! Why did I become Monokuma's mole? Why am I always so quiet and shy?! You feel like you can help me but you're just kidding yourself! Someone who had a fucking perfect life like yours can't help someone's suicidal life like mine!" Shocked at his words, I only shed tears as he continued. "I thought, and thought that I could do this, but I couldn't, so I stopped!" Was he talking about being Monokuma's mole? "That's because I wanted to be of use to people, not of use to some dumbass bear! No, it's not the bear, but I won't submit to despair anymore! I can't do that with people like you anymore, so just leave me the fuck alone, Ayako! Tell everyone to just leave me the FUCK ALONE!" Hideaki's eyes were streaming waterworks, growing red, nose running. He looked like a little kid who just dropped his ice cream, but that was just his appearance. "My life was nothing but hell, do you know that? If I could name five moments of when I was genuinely happy, nearly half of them were from this fucking academy over here!"

"H-how could you be happy in a place like this?!" I screamed. "Why won't you let someone in?"

"I can be happy in a place like this because of everyone else!" Hideaki fought back. "I thought I had made my first friends! That's why I fucking stopped being Monokuma's mole! I hoped and hoped that you guys would somehow understand and still accept me, but back at the class trial, we were kept from valuable information because they didn't trust me! You don't know how fucking hurtful it is when you lived a life of misery, finally got some moments of happiness, then have it crushed in front of you! Crushed because of a stupid mistake that I made!"

"It's only natural!" I screamed back. "How could we trust you right away?!"

"I didn't expect you too!" Hideaki yelled. "I thought after the first day and after the investigation, and even after the class trial, I'd be forgiven! I just want to be forgiven! But you guys only started apologizing to me a week ago! It was two weeks of being shunned! It was two weeks of having my mistakes shot back at me! It was two weeks of me trying to find a goddamn reason of why I'm still alive!" Hideaki began to shake me. "Why?!" he screamed. "WHY?!"

I looked at Hideaki, and realized the black pattern in his past. It was something darker than everyone's. It was absolute despair throughout his whole life. These tears now weren't because of shock, but because of pure sympathy over a friend.

"I'm not avoiding you because I'm angry!" he said. "I can't face you guys because it only reminds me more of how I hate myself! I hate myself, Ayako! So just back off!"

For what felt like hours, I was being lifted by Hideaki from my collar. Though that was supposed to be threatening, it was still a gentle lift. It wasn't painful, it wasn't choking me. It just amplified the emotion that he felt. He was angry. I was being completely insensitive, wasn't I? A few moments later, Hideaki put me down, stuffed his face into his palms, and apologized.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was getting ahead of myself."

"No, you weren't," I said, still shedding a few tears. "Hideaki, you can't hate yourself. There's nothing about you to hate. So stop, please."

Hideaki wiped his last tears away, and the two of us headed into the log cabin. He sat down on a bench, as I sat down next to him.

"Telling me to stop hating myself won't work," he said. "It doesn't work that way."

"I know," I said. "It was just a request, I guess."

Hideaki looked out at the lake. The sun was still blazing, and I took a quick look at my watch. It was already 1:00. I had to wonder how long I looked for Hideaki.

"I guess I should thank you," he said. "For caring about me so much."

"You don't have to thank any of us for that," I said back. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"I told you," he said. "It wasn't until after Monokuma revealed my role as being a mole that I felt this way. It was just then I realized how much I hated myself. It felt awful." He took out a chocolate bar, and unwrapped it. As he ate, I looked at him apologetically.

"Don't take this the wrong way," I said, "but what did exactly happen to you when you were little? Was it really so bad like you said it was?" Hideaki nodded.

"Most people share tragedy stories about being bullied," he said, "and being really sad for their whole life. But it was so much worse for me. Do you really want to know?"

I nodded, and Hideaki sighed.

"I guess it is sort of refreshing," he said. "Having someone to care so much about me, they're willing to hear a boring story about my life. Anyways, alright. I'll tell you."

"I guess I was a normal child at first as a kid. I was such a happy and bubbly person – that's what my parents used to say to me. I had always gotten top marks in my class, and even though I was still bullied, even physically, it was my father who'd always cheer me up. He'd take me for ice cream, or even to watch a movie. So I didn't live an abnormal life. But my true barrage of despair starts about a month after I enter the first grade.

My parents were in a huge fight. I don't even remember why, but it ended in a car crash. My father broke his neck through an airbag. His dead and disfigured body was shown right in front of me. It was horrifying to me; I was basically scarred for life at that point. My mother was screaming and crying in front of me, and the driver got out of the car. He was a street thug, and used this opportunity to rob everything that my mother got.

We weren't able to properly afford a good house or anything after that. My mother became a heavy drinker, and blew off all her money on drinks and cigarettes. We couldn't afford to 'keep me' any longer, so I was forced into a foster home. My mother willingly gave me up because she wanted a little extra money for her drinks. Soon after I moved in, she died of an alcohol overdose. Through this, all the kids at the foster home were bullying me. Making fun of me for mourning my dead parents. Making fun of my short stature. There was a frequent volunteer for the house though. Her name was **Sakura Oogami**."

"You mean that MMA woman fighter?" I asked. "She doesn't look like the kind of guy to volunteer much."

"She was my only friend ever until I entered this academy and met you all. Sakura taught me how to defend myself, and eventually, I was able to fend off from the bullies. Sakura stopped coming eventually – I have no idea why though. I never saw her again after that."

"I'm sorry."

"After I learned to defend myself, I was able to train myself even further. I was corrupt back then; and I was able to spy on the others and create blackmail. It was a bad time for me, but I did it, and I'm not proud of it at all. But that's how I trained myself to be a spy."

"It's amazing you can teach yourself like that," I said. "I'd never have that talent."

"It was more like a curse," Hideaki told me, "because one time, I got caught by one of my foster brothers."

"What did he do?"

"He attacked me with a knife."

"What?!"

"So I killed him."

The words that escaped Hideaki's mouth caught me by surprise. It was insane for Hideaki to train himself and create blackmail, but I was absolutely mortified to hear that Hideaki killed someone else. His past definitely was painted black.

"Again, I'm deeply troubled by that memory," Hideaki said. "If I could go back and reverse it, I would. But I can't. The police came, and at court, I was pronounced not guilty for justifiable self-defense. Three days later, the government came by the foster home and forced me out of there. Not that it was a bad thing, since it felt incredibly awkward to be around the people who were scared of me."

"You were forced to be a spy by the government?" I asked. Hideaki nodded.

"I was only thirteen years old then," he continued. "I think it's sort of frightening for me to be forced into a spy. I was forced into the darkest situations. I nearly died several times. But I got the information the government needed."

"Y-you're really good at what you do, don't you?"

"I guess," Hideaki said. "I don't blame anyone. Soon after, I met up with Rin's father who worked for the government. We agreed that he'd act as my stepfather, so I got a fake mom so I could work with Rin's father underground."

"Was she insane like today?" I asked.

"No," he said. "But I left a year after that. Something might have happened then."

"That's insane…"

"Two years later, after moving out of Rin's home, I was taken in and stayed at a military school. I got special treatment; naturally the other kids hated me. But they didn't dare mess with me. I'd beat them in a fight anyways. While I was at that military school, two agents came in and brought in a computer. I had a secret meeting with Monokuma at the military school, who told me that Rin's family would be killed if I didn't cooperate and become his mole."

"What?!" Hideaki nodded. I was surprised that the truth came out… so nonchalantly. "It was all for Rin? That's why she went insane?!"

"Probably," Hideaki said. "I don't think I saved her father. Monokuma didn't keep his word on that one. But he saved Rin in a way, and invited her to attend Hope's Peak. Of course, at that time, I didn't know it was Monokuma, but I knew about our lives of mutual killings beforehand. I just wanted to save Rin and her family. They were truly the only family I thought I had after my father died."

"That's so sad," I said. "I'm so sorry…"

"The past is the past," Hideaki said. "It's weird for me to say this, but this academy was actually the happiest moment of my life. It wasn't because of the deaths of others, but because I met my first true friends here. That counts for me. It sounds weird, which is why I hope it makes a little sense to say it." The fact that Hideaki's happiest moments were in this academy meant his life was a pure living hell. I couldn't imagine stepping into his shoes for one second. I felt pity.

Hideaki leaned over, and began to whisper something into my ear. "Beware."

"Huh?" I asked.

"Be wary of that card," Hideaki said. "While you have it, you possess danger and targeting from the puppetmaster."

"How do you know I took that card?" I asked, shocked.

"I'm a spy," Hideaki sighed. "Or was it just intuition?"

"Do you know what it does?"

Hideaki shook his head. "My first day in meeting with Monokuma; I saw it, and it didn't do anything useful at all to my knowledge." Hideaki tossed the chocolate wrapper to the trash can. It fell out instead of going into the trash can, but Hideaki didn't take notice. We walked back up the hill, intending to meet someone else, but Hideaki stopped for a second. He took another look back at the shack where he and Monokuma would meet, and walked over to it.

"I have to know what's down there," Hideaki said. "It's our only hope."

I looked at Hideaki as I held a reaction that spelled out, are you insane?

"You can't possibly be thinking about infiltrating it," I whispered into Hideaki's ear.

"I have a way I can get inside," Hideaki said.

We walked back into cafeteria, and we were greeted by everyone. It was a happy reunion, so to speak, as people were apologizing to Hideaki from all directions. I think I caught a hint of a grin on his face, but I wasn't too sure about that, since he's incredibly hard to read. Hideaki walked up to Taisuke, and whispered something into his ear.

"I need a distraction," Hideaki said, with me reading his lips. Taisuke nodded, and started to call for Monokuma. Hideaki went into the kitchen, and out came Monokuma.

"What is it, you microphone hating camera breaking loser?" Monokuma asked. "I'm busy, you know."

"I just wanted to know something," Taisuke said. "In fact, we all did."

"Oho? No, no, I haven't been working out! I'm just getting slimmer! I'm getting less and less stuffing put into me you know."

"That's not it," Taisuke asked. As Taisuke rambled on about certain nonsense, I kept my eyes peeled on the kitchen doors. Hideaki would have to come out of there to ever leave this building.

"No, I'm not a woman," Monokuma said. "I'm actually quite content with being a boy bear, though I don't think I have a dingaling."

"You certainly don't have an easter egg," Taisuke said, resulting from a sound slap by Saya.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rin said. "I have an actual freakin' question to ask you, ok?!"

"What is it, you psycho?" Monokuma asked "politely."

"Aha! What the hell does that ace card do?!"

"What ace card? You mean the one snug like a bug in my little shack?"

Rin nodded and stuck her tongue out. "Don't know why the fuck you'd want to ever trade that for something important to one of us! So spill it teddy!"

"No, no," Monokuma said. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you!"

"Ahaha! That's hilarious!" Rin said. "Okay, I'm done then!"

I took a stare at Monokuma, and fixed my look back at the kitchen door. Whatever distraction Hideaki wanted; would this be enough time? There was a look of worry on my face, which Monokuma seemed to catch onto.

"Ayako?" Monokuma asked. "Do you have arthritis or shingles?"

"Uh, no," I said. "I'm just thinking."

"Tell me!" Monokuma demanded. "Thinking about gossip? I knew it – you have the hots for Hideaki, don't you?"

"W-what?!"

"You didn't need to tell us that," Kouichi teased. "Even though it disgusts me I'm agreeing with you."

"I don't –"

"Oh come on!" Monokuma growled. "Don't be ridiculous! How many times did you fantasize about your beautiful hubby!"

"Please shut up," I mumbled.

"Well, bye then," Monokuma said. "By the way you guys, I'd appreciate it if you guys helped move some boxes to the lake. I need to, uh, do some cleaning and dump a couple things at the lake."

"You need to dump things into the lake?" I asked. "Do I dare ask why?"

"Uh, lalalalala!" Monokuma said. "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

Monokuma immediately disappeared, and I was not sure what exactly what to think about what just happened.

"Did you give Hideaki the ace card?" Taisuke asked, walking up to me. I realized that I had forgotten, and slapped my forehead.

"He knew I had it, but I forgot to give it to him," I said sighing. "I guess I could give it to him when we dump whatever Monokuma wants us to down the lake."

My stomach grumbled, craving food, so I resolved to eat whatever I could during that time. As we all sat and talked to each other, the bell rang with Monokuma's unpleasant voice ringing through the walls.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_You guys can come down and help me now," _Monokuma said, as if it were a blessing. _"I'll be ever so grateful! But whatever the hell you do, please don't open the box! Yeah, it won't be good for much of you anyways."_

We walked outside of the cafeteria, and we were surprised to see dozens of boxes stacked up. A notepad was on top of one of the boxes, having a little Monokuma sign on the lower right part of it, and the note read: "Dear you bastards, please dump these boxes into the lake. No need to open them, heh heh. Anyways, you each have to carry three at a time for maximum efficiency! Or you can take a long time. Bye!"

"We have to carry three boxes?" Kouichi explained. "The hell?"

"They aren't heavy at all though," Kichiro said. "Quit complaining, you're a professional killer."

"Y-yeah, but I was trained to shoot a gun, not to carry something as heavy as this."

I took three of the boxes, and at the end, we all walked to the lake. Kouichi tripped a couple of times, and once he sprained his ankle, so Senji, Taisuke, and Kichiro were forced to carry an extra box."

"Why are there so many boxes?" Kouichi complained, limping along.

"You're not carrying anything!" Kichiro snapped. "Don't whine." Miyu giggled alongside me, and as we struggled with the boxes, we started to talk.

"Do you really not like Hideaki?" Miyu asked.

"Of course I do," I said. "But not in that way, I mean, the way I know you think I like him. W-why? Do you think he likes me? Because if you do, just say so!"

"I don't know," Miyu said. "Boys are hard to read naturally, but he's something else. Like, he doesn't show any emotion at all. He's so weird."

"Yeah," I said. "But give him a break… lots of things happened in his past." Miyu's eyes immediately lighted up.

"Oh my God!" Miyu exclaimed. "Hideaki _does_ like you!"

"Huh?"

"Think about it!" Miyu said, smiling. "He has a really dark past, and he's all so cold and mysterious, like he doesn't regard anyone! But, he was the only one who told you about his past. If that's not because he likes you, I'd think he's just weirder than I thought."

"T-that's stupid," I said. "Besides, I think it's more like I was the first person that trusted him, so, it's nothing like that. It's just a sense of payback, so to speak."

"You are grasping for straws," Miyu sighed, "he totally likes you."

I stared at Miyu and shook my head rapidly. "No, he couldn't!" I exclaimed. "He doesn't look like that kind of guy anyways."

"Why are you treating it like a bad thing?" Miyu asked. "C'mon, it's so obvious that you like him too."

"What?!"

"You're the only one who spends that much time with him," Miyu said. "We all like Hideaki, but it's like you two are so completely close to each other… It's so sweet!"

"Name one time!" I fought back.

"The second class trial," Miyu said at the end, her eyes sparkling. "The only time he smiled was when he was trying to comfort you! I've never ever seen him smile in front of any of us. He wanted to make you feel better! That's it, end of story!" Miyu hopped a little carrying the boxes, which surprised me incredibly on how well she was able to handle these boxes.

"It's so nice how love can even be encountered here!" Miyu said, sighing. "I wonder if it'll ever meet me." Miyu took a quick glance at Kichiro, who continued to yell at Kouichi. I laughed, and thought that maybe our lives would come back to us. Not like before we were trapped here, but when we entered this school. I remember the days when we were all so friendly towards each other, before everyone started to die. Not realizing it, I started to blush a little. Miyu was swooning, and she pointed at my cheeks, while being able to support all the boxes in one hand.

"Do you really think Hideaki likes me?" I whispered.

"If I weren't a painter, I'd be a love doctor!" Miyu exclaimed. "I can't wait till we get out of these walls!" Miyu sighed, and smiled. Was she a bundle of hope? She lit up the area almost instantly… with fragments of pure hope. We arrived at the moss filled lake, and threw all the boxes in with brute force. As we turned around, we saw Monokuma suspiciously looking at us.

"Where is he?" Monokuma asked.

"Who?" Kouichi replied.

"My ex-mole," Monokuma said. "Blondie. One-eyed peg man. Hideaki. Why is he not helping you?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know," I said, whistling after that, being a terrible liar.

"Ohohoho? Ayako? Do you know something?"

"Of course I don't!" I snapped. "Stop asking me about it!" I bit my lip and prayed that Monokuma would silence himself.

"Oh, fine," Monokuma said. "As long as you guys finish your work, we're all done here."

"There's more boxes?" Kouichi asked.

"Unfortunately, you guys forgot one of the back at the cafeteria," Monokuma sighed. "It just goes to show you that you can't trust teens for anything, can you?"

"Shut up," I muttered, and I hiked back up to the cafeteria. We were all bushed by the time we got there. It was already turning dark out, being only 4:30, and no one wanted to move the last box.

"We should pick straws," Kouichi said.

"Or we could play poker," Taisuke said.

"No one's going to play poker with you," Suguru sighed.

"I-I'll go," Miyu offered. I looked at Miyu – she looked incredibly tired.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You look pretty tired."

"I haven't been much use to anyone in either the investigations or the class trials," Miyu said. "I guess this would be my way of saying… thank you for keeping me a-alive?"

"Don't be silly," I said, "you don't need to thank us."

"But I want to be more of use," Miyu said. "So I'll be the chores girl. Don't worry, I'll be able to do it! I-I'm stronger than I look!"

We all looked at each other, and nodded.

"Okay," I said, "if you really want too."

"I'll come with you," Kichiro offered. "You shouldn't be out at night alone." Miyu blushed almost immediately and turned around.

"N-n-no!" she stammered. "I-I-I'll b-be okay!" Miyu ran out the doors, and as I peeked through the window, she was already gone, with the box. I turned at Kichiro, who was scratching his head, confused at Miyu's current outburst.

We all decided to return to our dorms that night, seeing as we spent the whole day at the cafeteria. We all needed to take a rest. Monokuma announced cable TV, so I decided to check that out. I saw others head back to the classrooms to use the computer room. But as I waited, and waited, Hideaki never came back. What could he have been doing? Why did he need a distraction? These thoughts ran through my head, as I rubbed my eyes, Monokuma's nighttime announcement commenced and I realized I watched TV way too long. I didn't even have dinner – I guess that I haven't watched anything in so long, I felt like I needed to watch it some more and catch up with what was on the outside, but I guess I couldn't. Though, it felt strange that no one was talking about us being locked up. Where were the police in all of this? Why hasn't outside help come yet?

These thoughts ran through my head as I fell into a light sleep, waiting for the next day to present itself with hope.

* * *

_*Knock, knock*_

_*Knock, knock*_

"Uh… wha?"

_*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*_

"Who's at the door?" I moaned as I glanced at my watch. It was only 6:32, who could be up at that time? I walked up to the door, and to my surprise, Kichiro was standing outside the door. His facial expression could only be described as fury. He was plain as day furious at something.

"Follow me! Please!" Kichiro grabbed my wrist, and we ran out of the dormitories down to the lake.

"What is going on?" I asked. Kichiro tugged and tugged, and when we reached the lake, Kichiro pointed at Miyu.

"She's… taking a nap?" Kichiro shook his head, and walked over, revealing her forehead had been thickened with blood.

"Oh… my God," I said. "Miyu is… DEAD?!"

"Who! Who the fuck would do this?!" Kichiro held Miyu close, squeezing every last lifeless breath out of her. I looked around, shocked. Who? Who the hell still wanted to kill? What incentive did Monokuma present?!

"Why?!" I asked to myself. "Why?! WHO?!"

_**Continued in Chapter 5: Investigation**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#16

Monokuma: You see, I have a rather strong opinion on religion.

Monokuma: God is some mighty creature from above who is so amazing, and can cause the repent of others.

Monokuma: People worship him as being a savior to humans, and to giving us a fantastic life.

Monokuma: However, have you ever considered this? Why does God keep despair afloat?

Monokuma: You see, if you think that praying to God will get you want you want…

Monokuma: It just won't! I mean, these nice kids that I locked up in here, what did they do?

Monokuma: Do they deserve this divine punishment from me?


	18. Chapter 5: Investigation

Monokuma: I'm a little tired today, so I'm not sure I'm up for another Monokuma Recap Board.

Monokuma: I'll do it either way, I guess.

Monokuma: Anyways, everyone thought all this despair was over. Everyone was friends here, right?

Monokuma: Is that really the case? With the death if Miyu Okumura, everything is not what It seems!

* * *

"Hey! Hey!" Kichiro called out, shaking Miyu in his arms. "Wake up! You're not dead! You can't be dead! So wake up! Open your eyes!" Kichiro… he was undoubtedly submitted into his own awful despair. Despair that spread across the entire academy. I felt it too, walking over to Miyu's dead body. I put my hand to her neck, as Kichiro continued to shake her, but it was true. Miyu was really dead. She was gone… The sweet Miyu, the Super Highschool Level Painter, was gone.

"She's really dead," I told Kichiro. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Heh… huh?" Kichiro muttered. "I'm not going to fucking believe that! Stop making up shit! Miyu – she's tougher than she looks! A small bump like this in the head! It wouldn't have killed her! She's fine! I-is she in a coma, or something? P-please!" My heart broke as the sight of Kichiro shaking the one he loved played out in front of me. I never thought that anyone would think to kill Miyu. Why her? Why did things have to turn out this way? I didn't get it!

"I'm g-going to tell the others," I said. I looked at my watch; it was almost 7:00 in the morning. Everyone would be awake soon. Still, I had to go tell them. How could Miyu die? How could we let Miyu die? I walked up the hill and into the dormitories, and as soon as I arrived, Monokuma's voice rang throughout the school.

"Good morning you guys!" said Monokuma through the announcements. "It is now 7:00! Rise and shine! Let's make today the best it can be!"

The best in can be? What was that? Was it the fact that we had to catch the killer? That we'd have to find and execute another one of our friends? What kind of day would that be?

As everyone left their dormitories, I waited at the entrance for each of them. Saya exited the building first, and as I informed her of Miyu's death, her eyes widened, and she ran down to the lake. Senji was next, but there was no need for me to tell him what happened. As I opened my mouth, Monokuma's voice was the result.

"_Attention! A corpse has been found! We're going to start a class trial pretty soon, so please investigate to the best of your abilities! How refreshing to hear that, I didn't exactly get to say that the last time someone died! When __was__ the last time someone died? A month ago? Upupupu! Ahahaha!"_

There was no time for me to stand anymore. Everyone heard the announcement; everyone would find the body eventually. I had to catch the killer. This is my resolve – the killer is not my friend. The killer never was my friend. I'd make sure that whoever killed Miyu would get executed. I will avenge Miyu, my friend!

Down at the lake, Monokuma was waiting with a microphone.

"Attention! Attention! Body is icky! Maggots are eating her skin! Attention!" Kichiro had fainted and was put to lie down in the log cabin, so he wasn't here to see Monokuma present the next Monokuma File. As I opened the file up, the cause of death listed definitely wasn't a surprise at all.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Monokuma File #5: The fifth Monokuma file. Reads: Victim: Miyu Okumura | Time of Death: 4:36 PM | Died by blunt force trauma.

I did realize though that the cause of death was rather vague. It said that she died by blunt force trauma, but usually; there'd be a method to how she died from it. Example, if Miyu was killed by a sledgehammer, it would name the murder weapon. Not like it would be hard to find out what the murder weapon was, but it was rather puzzling.

I scanned the crime scene to see if there was anything of interest. There was blood on Miyu's forehead, and though there wasn't any wound on top of her head, the wound on her forehead was rather large. It definitely wasn't something as small as a knife or a regular hammer. It was something very large that was slammed on Miyu's head.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Miyu's Injury: The murder weapon could not have been something as small as a regular sized hammer. It had to be something large.

I repeatedly checked out the lake area, but there was nothing else of importance at all. The murderer clearly disposed of the murder weapon, but the question was where the weapon could have been disposed of. The most obvious possibility was the lake – which would be a good spot considering no one would enter there to investigate. However, if it was down there, I had to check eventually.

Next, I checked up on Kichiro in the log cabin. His breathing was frigid and slight – he couldn't relax even in his sleep. I shook him awake, and as Kichiro stared at me, his eyes watered remembering about Miyu's death. That's right, she actually died.

"I-I'll find the killer," Kichiro said. "I'll send whoever killed Miyu straight to their fucking deaths! I'm going to get them!" Kichiro leaped out of the bed, and kneeled down in front of me. "Let me help you with your investigation!" he begged. "You're good at this! I want to help! I want to – I want to avenge Miyu! Don't you?!"

I nodded, and smiled. "Of course you can," I said. "We'll find out who killed Miyu, and avenge her together!" The two of us ran out the building and looked around quickly.

"I already scanned the area," I told Kichiro. "The murder weapon was most likely disposed of in the lake."

"The lake? Got it!" I immediately tripped up to the floor as Kichiro jumped into the water, with his clothes on top to bottom. The water was filled with moss, and a large hole appeared on where Kichiro dived in. After a few moments, he took out the box. I recognized that box almost immediately. It was the box that Miyu offered to take back into the lake.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Box: A box found in the lake. It was the box that Miyu carried.

"The box isn't ruined," I said. "That's odd."

"It's a wood box," said Kichiro. "I don't think it's been underwater long enough for it to deteriorate." He tilted his head to get water out of his ear, and sighed.

"I think I need to get cleaned up," Kichiro sighed. "You mind meeting up at the cafeteria?"

"No problem," I said. "I'll just be seeing if I can find anything else." Kichiro nodded, and hopped awkwardly to the dormitories. Looking back at the scene of the crime, I carefully scanned the outer edges of the lake once more. Again, there was nothing, but that was rather odd. The lake had a tendency to crash against its edges like an ocean wave splashes onto the sands of a beach. There would have to be some mud spread around if there were a struggle.

Basically, what I learned is that Miyu was able to properly dispose of the box. That was fine and dandy, but that meant there had to be more evidence in other places. For example, I still had yet to find what the murder weapon was or could be. Usually, the killer wouldn't be as lenient as to hiding it in their room, as someone could easily walk in and find it. Other than that, someone could have disposed of it in a trash can, which would easily show up if we searched hard enough, so no killer would do that if they were smart. The incinerator in the boiler room had to be where the murder weapon was disposed of, seeing as there was no hint of it in the lake. As a side note, Miyu had to have been attacked _after_ she threw the box away, meaning on the way back.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

4: Miyu's Cause of Death Info: She disposed of the box, meaning it was on her way back to the dormitories.

I had to meet up with Kichiro though, at the cafeteria, so off I went.

* * *

_**Location: Cafeteria | Time: 7:47 AM | Chapter Five**_

Waiting at the cafeteria for quite a while, I made rounds through all the trash cans just in case the murder weapon might have been disposed of in here. There was nothing that was suspicious that could have been used, so I passed that aside. Sooner or later, Kichiro arrived, and we headed off to investigate.

On our way out, I could see Hideaki head in the direction of the incinerator, or so I assumed.

"It's Hideaki," I mumbled to myself. "I wonder where he's been?"

"He's grown on me," Kichiro said. "Though, I was curious as to what he was doing when we asked Taisuke to distract Monokuma."

"You heard that?"

"I just assumed," Kichiro said. "Ya don't really talk about the gender of a bear for serious, right?"

"But where was he all this time?" I wondered.

"He… doesn't have an alibi?" Kichiro asked. "T-then –"

"It wasn't him," I snapped. "It couldn't have been him.

"A-alright…" Kichiro said. "I trust him this time. But still…"

"Yeah, no one does that." I opened the cafeteria doors, and prepared to head straight for the boiler room. If my theory was so far correct, than the incinerator would show signs of being used, meaning that the murder weapon was disposed of in the incinerator. That would probably hold a lead, since I was pretty sure who passed by the dorms and who didn't.

* * *

_**Location: Boiler Room | Time: 8:08 AM | Chapter Five**_

"Here we are," I said to myself as we headed down the boiler room. Heading deeper and deeper, I noticed Kichiro being extra careful, probably because of the incident with the trap. Heading downwards, I saw Hideaki, grabbing a hold of his chin. Looking confused, he checked the incinerator again, and even put his head in it.

"This doesn't make sense," he said to himself.

"What doesn't?" I asked.

"Oh, Ayako. Well, it's pretty clear that the incinerator was not used at all last night," he said.

"W-what?"

"That means the killer either disposed of it somewhere else, or is still in possession of it."

"I already checked the lake," Kichiro said. "All I could find was the box."

"The box?" Hideaki asked. "So, that's most likely –"

"No," I interrupted. "I don't think that's it. It was in the lake already, and Miyu went down to the lake to dispose of it for Monokuma. He made us each dispose of a box."

"I'm sorry I didn't help," Hideaki said. "I might have been able to prevent Miyu's death if we all threw it away at once."

"It's not your fault," Kichiro said. "It's the fault of that goddamn murderer."

"Who do you think it could be?" I asked. "So far, there were no huge clues at the lake, other than Miyu's wound and the box in the lake. The weapon wasn't disposed of here, meaning the killer either has it in their possession, or disposed of it somewhere else."

"Did you check the whole lake?" Hideaki asked. I nodded in response, and he grabbed his chin again.

"I have an idea," Hideaki said. "The killer might still have it in their room, the murder weapon that is."

"I'm not sure they'd put it in plain sight like that," I said.

"Plain sight? No, the killer likely thought that the murder weapon would be in closed doors, safe and sound. Besides, no one would have objections if the murder weapon isn't in there room."

"So… anyone who got a big reaction outta this, is a likely suspect for the murder?" Kichiro asked. Hideaki nodded, and Kichiro sighed in suspense.

"I guess we gotta round everyone up, then," Kichiro said. "But how are we going to get them all in one location?"

"Allow me!" said Monokuma, suddenly appearing behind Kichiro.

"Damn it! You made me jump!" Kichiro said.

"Upupu, how intimidating!" Monokuma said. "But I'll make an announcement for you heroes to commence in one location. Where would you like that place to be, may I ask?"

"The graduation plaza sounds good," I said. "We used that spot a lot."

"I'd appreciate it if we didn't do it there," Hideaki said. Remembering when Hideaki was threatened to be killed in front of all of us, I shut up. "The cafeteria or gymnasium should suffice."

"The gymnasium is farther away from the dormitories," Kichiro said, "meaning that there's a less chance for people to move the location of the murder weapon, right?" We all nodded in agreement, and Monokuma laughed.

"Gymnasium it is, then!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Let's get this party started!" Monokuma disappeared in the blink of an eye, and a few seconds later, the intercom rang.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_You guys! Three of your classmates want you all to gather up in the gymnasium! It appears they have a plan to do something exciting! Upupupu!"_

"Let's go," Kichiro said, and he went out of the room first. As Hideaki proceeded, I grabbed a hold of his arm, and stopped him.

"Wait," I said. "I have to ask you a question."

"What is it?" Hideaki asked.

"I didn't see you all night yesterday," I said. "What were you doing for that long?" Hideaki stared at me, and then turned around.

"Ho, you're worried about me, huh?" he asked. My cheeks instantly turned red, and I think I squealed a little in embarrassment.

"I'll tell you after the trial," Hideaki said. "It's better not to cloud your thoughts right now with information not relevant to this case." I nodded, and sighed. It would have been better for him to have told me now. "Don't worry though," Hideaki said. "This might be a key role in taking down the puppetmaster." He turned at me, and gave me a small grin. Miyu's words flashed in my mind as I saw Hideaki's smile.

"_The only time he smiled was when he was trying to comfort you!"_

Thinking about those words reminded me of Miyu. That sweet girl, one of my best friends, was dead. But, his second smile he ever flashed at our time here… both of them were directed at me.

"Are you coming?" Hideaki asked from up the stairs. "Kichiro's growing impatient."

"Y-yeah," I called back, and I headed up the stairs. I couldn't forget about the incinerator, though. If it wasn't used to dispose of the weapon, then the only other options were somewhere in a trash can or similar to that, or the dorm rooms of us. If we really were innocent, none of us would act in a way that would be suspicious. Isn't that right?

**:::/NEW AMMO))  
**5: Incinerator: Presumed to have been used to dispose of the murder weapon, it was in fact never used to dispose of anything in a while.

* * *

_**Location: Gymnasium | Time: 8:32 AM | Chapter Five**_

We all gathered up into the gymnasium, and I got up on the stage with Hideaki and Kichiro. Using Monokuma's podium, I faced everyone in front of me.

"It pains me to say this," I started. "But one of us is undoubtedly the murderer of Miyu Okumura." I heard murmurs throughout the others, and they soon retracted their attention back onto me. "We need to see if anyone is harboring any evidence; more specifically the murder weapon itself. We could not find it anywhere else, so we're going to need to search your rooms."

"Couldn't the killer just move the murder weapon while you're exploring the rooms?" Kouichi asked.

"There should be a watchman in each of the rooms," Saya said. "Kichiro and Hideaki fit those roles fine. If one of those two did it, they would be able to catch each other moving evidence."

"But someone could just enter their dorm while everyone else is investigating, couldn't they?" Kyouko asked. "So –"

"I'll guard the exit," Senji said. "That eliminates that problem."

"Roger is a good watchdog!" Suguru exclaimed. "He can help you!"

_Bark!_

I nodded, and faced everyone again. "We need to actually get into the rooms though," I said. "So we're going to need to borrow your keys."

"No need for that!" said Monokuma suddenly. In surprise, I tripped off the stage, to the surprise of others. "No need for that at all! I'll just automatically unlock the rooms for your convenience!"

"Why would you be helping us?" I asked. "Your objective is to wipe each of us out, isn't it?"

"The truth here is always submitted into the dregs of despair," Monokuma said laughing. "So I'm just giving the opportunity for despair to develop in an easier way. Besides, this murder in particular might indeed, _effect_ some if you, in a particularly shocking way! Despair is delicious, isn't it? Upupupupu… Ahahahahaha!"

"So you're saying you're helping us because you think we'll be submitted into even deeper despair?" I asked. "That's ridiculous; we're going to avenge Miyu. We're going to send the killer to his execution and rebuild the hope we had once we first got here. We won't fall into your tricks."

"Upupu, is that so? Upupu, is that how you're going to be?" Monokuma asked. "You think the death of a friend enforces the death of another? They just want to get out; what's wrong with that? I don't see anything particularly upsetting, do you?"

"We won't give into your despair that you keep referencing too," Senji said from the crowd.

"Anyways, Ayako, I would be careful," Monokuma said. "This resolve that you're just going to willingly send anyone who kills your friend to the death is just because you're angry. Don't let your emotions cloud your thoughts, cause you never know when that could hurt you in the end. Besides, you're being rather cruel, don't you think?"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked. "That I'm cruel? What are you then?"

"Oh, I suppose I'm cruel too," said Monokuma. "But I'm not exactly a protagonist in this story, am I?" Monokuma laughed, as he disappeared right in front of our eyes. We all took a few moments to think about Monokuma's words, and unsurprisingly, Hideaki broke the silence.

"We should investigate now," Hideaki said. "We aren't going to accomplish anything by standing around."

"Y-yeah," I responded. "You're probably right." We bid everyone goodbye, and headed for the dormitories.

* * *

_**Location: Dorm Housing | Time: 8:50 AM | Chapter Five**_

"This doesn't make sense," I said, finishing up searching through Kyouko's room. "It doesn't make sense at all."

We left Kyouko's room; the last of the dormitories. "Nothing to suggest anything," I said. "Not even like a hammer which was washed, or something!"

"J-jeez," Kichiro said. "Then, where could the murder weapon be?"

"This is confusing," Hideaki said. "We can only look some more though."

"Where would we look though?" I asked. "Should we check through all the trash cans throughout the academy?"

"That'll take too long," Hideaki replied. "I'm going to check the lake again."

"The lake?" I asked. "I already searched that, there was nothing to be seen."

"I'm just going to double check then," Hideaki said. "Nothing wrong with that."

"Y-yeah, okay," I said. "I was just wondering…"

"Coming?" he asked the two of us. Kichiro immediately followed after, and I guessed that there was nothing to do except follow them, since we couldn't find any leads at all.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Dormitories: Nothing suggesting a weapon used for blunt force trauma was found in any of the dorms.

* * *

_**Location: The Lake | Time: 9:29 AM | Chapter Five**_

As we went down to the lake, we searched through and through for any hints at all. As I thought, there was nothing on the way there. When we actually arrived at the lake, my initial thought was confirmed at as. There was no sign of anything.

"I knew there wouldn't be anything," I said. "This case is so obscure, we only found six useful things, and some aren't exactly useful at all."

"The evidence is collaborated into our phone, right?" Hideaki asked.

"No, we get our own personal evidence list," I said.

"You sure write a lot," Hideaki said. "Anyways, it appears like there's nothing here."

"Never say never, my dear stepbrother!" said a familiar voice. Looking out into the lake, I realized that the voice was coming from the trashcan. Out popped Rin, who seemed to be swimming the trash.

"Aiaiaiaiai! It's your crazy bitch over here!" Rin exclaimed. "Look what I found!" Rin held up a candy wrapper.

"Uh, isn't that the candy wrapper you threw away yesterday?" I asked to Hideaki.

"What are you doing there, Rin?" Hideaki asked. "There's not going to be anything on that wrapper."

"Uh, UH!" Rin exclaimed. "Check this out!" Rin flattened out the wrapper, and dropped it on the floor. The candy wrapper was to a king size bar, and located on the candy wrapper was a muddy footprint. "Look! A footprint! Haha!"

"You more than likely made it yourself when swimming in the trash," Kichiro said, sighing. "This won't help."

"Won't hurt to record it though, I guess," I said. "Anything will help."

**:::/NEW AMMO))  
**7: Candy Wrapper: Found in the trash by Rin. Don't know how the hell this will help us.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_You bastards always take too long, so it's time for our spectacular class trial! Please proceed to the gazebo, so we can get this train rolling! I'm looking forward to it! Upupupu!"_

Rin got out of the trash can, and brushed her skirt, and skipped up the hill like nothing happened.

"She's insane," Kichiro said. "But we should probably follow her anyways."

"It's time for the class trial," I said. "We're going to catch Miyu's murderer! And bring him to his knees!"

"Or her," Kichiro corrected.

My feet pulled me forward on its own. It's like they had a mind of their own, as I walked up the hill, and straight to the park gazebo. My good friend; Miyu. She was killed by one of us again. It was time for us – no, time for me to catch the killer. I arrived at the gazebo in time, and as Monokuma pulled the lever, each of us descended towards the darkness.

Entering a new courtroom themed to a prehistoric time, I faced the others in the courtroom.

It was time…

The class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter 5: Class Trial**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#17:

Monokuma: Having a good life, upupupu~

Monokuma: Having a great life, upupupu~

Monokuma: Ruining some great life, yuhuhuhu~

Monokuma: Death, death, death, death... Despair!


	19. Chapter 5: Class Trial

Monokuma: Upupupu! So much viral despair up in here! You know, Miyu was a sweet girl…

Monokuma: But bam! Slammo! Kapowie! Achachacha! She's dead now!

Monokuma: Upupupu, so much DESPAIR! So much DESPAIR!

* * *

==The death of Miyu Okumura!==No definite murder weapon! No definite suspect!==Who could have killed such a sweet girl?==

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **fifth** class trial! You all know the drill.

Monokuma: Finger the **TRUE** villain, and the villain will be **PUNISHED**, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the **WRONG** villain, and instead, **YOU GUYS** will be **PUNISHED,** leaving your deceiver to leave, **FREE & CLEAR!**

Monokuma: Anyways, you guys are in sort of a rut, aren't you?

Monokuma: With no real clues or leads, it's all sort of sad and bleak how things look for you right now!

Hideaki: We do have something that we absolutely need to make clear.

Hideaki: What was the weapon used to kill Miyu?

Saya: Without that information, we likely aren't able to proceed with this case, are we?

Kouichi: But… what are we going to talk about?

Kyouko: Maybe we should talk about what murder weapons COULD have been used.

Kyouko: Then we'd be flipping the problem on its head.

Ayako: _Possible murder weapons used to kill Miyu?_

Ayako: _What could have been used though?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: What could have been used to murder Miyu Okumura?

Suguru: Hmm, the Monokuma File says that Miyu was killed…

Suguru: **…in result of blunt force trauma.**

Kouichi: Did you find anything when you exploring our rooms?

Kichiro: Nothing overly suspicious, unfortunately…

Hideaki: There was nothing **found in the incinerator,** as well.

Kyouko: Then… what could have been the murder weapon?

Kyouko: **Was there even anything found at the scene of the crime?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Box_]

Ayako: You've got that wrong! There was something found at the scene of the crime!

Ayako: It's almost sad we didn't realize it earlier…

Ayako: What if the box was used as the murder weapon?

Kouichi: The box? You mean the one she offered to throw away?

Senji: The box is rather heavy… it's not something one can easily lift above their head, and then slam it onto someone.

Saya: On top of that, there was no blood on the box, was there not?

Hideaki: It fell in the lake, which is actually very active. It's more likely than not the blood got washed away.

Suguru: Roger, what do you think

Roger: Bark!

Taisuke: So right now you are assuming that the box was the murder weapon?

Ayako: It does add up, too.

Ayako: The killer of Miyu took the box, killed Miyu with it, and then dumped it into the lake.

Taisuke: While I do not deny that is a completely possible theory, we shouldn't jump to that conclusion right away.

Ayako: Why not?

Hideaki: I agree with Taisuke. There are too many inconsistencies with the box being used as the weapon.

Senji: First off, the killer would have to pry the box from Miyu's hands…

Senji: If that were to happen, Miyu were to either immediately toss the box into the lake…

Hideaki: …or drop it, then run away.

Suguru: Yeah… if she ran away, it'd be hard for the killer to chase after her with the box.

Saya: It seems like the box is out of the question then…

Hideaki: No, it's still possible. There are people in this courtroom capable of doing such a task, no matter how difficult.

Hideaki: It's just not likely or practical.

Kyouko: But if the box wasn't the murder weapon, what could it be?

Kyouko: Could the killer have thrown it away in a trash can?

Rin: Haha! Course not! That's too easy!

Rin: It means of course the killer still has the weapon in their possession!

Hideaki: It's very unlikely… but the only possibility as of now.

Hideaki: However, where would the killer hide it? They could not in their room, as the three of us checked it out.

Kichiro: Maybe they kept it in like a pocket or something?

Rin: Objection!

Rin: The cause of death was fucking blunt force trauma! Nothin' in shit could fit in a pocket that could kill with a good swipe on the head!

Kouichi: We've been cornered before in our class trials…

Kouichi: But this is really something else.

Senji: I have a solution.

Ayako: Senji?

Senji: What if the killer were to have killed Miyu somewhere else?

Ayako: Somewhere else? As in, not at the lake?

Hideaki: No, there's a reason why that's not possible.

Ayako: Why not?

Senji: It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Rin: Yahaha! Me too. And I'm INSANE!

Hideaki: There's a certain piece of evidence that contradicts that idea…

Hideaki: Proving that the murder definitely did not happen anywhere else.

Ayako: _What does Hideaki mean? Why is he stalling us?_

Ayako: _Or could it be that he's right?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Senji: Why can't the murder have happened **anywhere else?**

Taisuke: On top of that, what evidence are you referring to?

Kyouko: If the murder did happen somewhere else, then a different weapon is completely possible.

Suguru: Hmm… I really do think that the murder could have happened somewhere else.

Hideaki: Like I said, there is a piece of evidence that contradicts that.

Hideaki: Ayako, you know, don't you?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Monokuma File #5_]

Ayako: Now that I think about it… Hideaki is right. It doesn't make sense for the murder to have happened anywhere else.

Saya: Do you know what evidence that Hideaki is referring to as well?

Ayako: I-I think so…

Ayako: If you take a look at the fifth Monokuma File, the time of death is 4:36 PM.

Hideaki: Through my understanding of what I collected during my absence…

Hideaki: …Miyu just left several minutes before to dispose of that box for Monokuma.

Saya: Which means that the murder could only have happened at the lake, is that right?

Suguru: B-but, what if Miyu actually didn't go to the lake? There'd be nothing to contradict anything then, right?

Kichiro: Miyu was definitely intent on finishing the task at hand.

Kichiro: She was that kind of person anyways. She wouldn't have gotten sidetracked.

Ayako: The murder definitely happened at the lake. It definitely did.

Kyouko: Hmm, maybe we could talk about how Miyu was murdered then…

Hideaki: It probably won't harm us to talk about that. It might lead to something.

Ayako: _No, not that it might._

Ayako: _It's that it has to!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kyouko: How was Miyu murdered?

Rin: You stupid?! Blunt force trauma! B-L-U-N-T –

Hideaki: No, not the cause of death in general, but the specifics.

Taisuke: Such as whether or not she was attacked from **behind her**, or if she came **face to face with the killer.**

Kouichi: I think she was attacked from behind, right?

Kouichi: I mean, she was disposing of Monokuma's trash in the lake. To do that, you need to face forward.

Suguru: So, she was attacked form behind then?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Miyu's Injury_]

Ayako: No, she had to have been attacked _facing_ the killer.

Kouichi: Huh? Why's that?

Senji: Miyu Okumura's injury that resulted in her death was found on her forehead, was it not?

Ayako: That means that the killer had to have been facing her.

Rin: Hmmhmmhmhmhmhm… Couldn't the killer have attacked her from behind, and then slammed her with a hammer or somethin'?

Rin: Like, YEAH!

Ayako: Isn't that a little weird though? If I were the killer…

Ayako: I would've just hit her on the back of her head.

Hideaki: Also, keeping in mind that the injury could only have resulted from a _large weapon,_ as the actual injury had a large mark on her face.

Rin: Yup! You're right then!

Kyouko: Heh, you went down without a fight!

Rin: Bitch! Say that to my fucking FACE why don't you!

Kyouko: Eep!

Hideaki: Anyways, we figured out that she had to be facing the killer.

Suguru: This is so confusing! How can we get out of this corner?!

Senji: We have talked about the murder weapon of Miyu Okumura.

Taisuke: We confirmed that the weapon could not have been the box, as she was disposing the trash.

Hideaki: What likely happened was Miyu threw the box into the lake, turned around, and faced the killer.

Saya: After facing the killer, the killer used this item to hit Miyu. This adds up quite well.

Ayako: Y-yeah.

Ayako: _W-why is there a doubt? A doubt in my head that Miyu wasn't attacked right after she disposed of the trash?_

Ayako: _I wonder why… there's this doubt I have. What am I thinking of?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**LAKESIDE**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: Actually, you guys, I don't think she was killed right after she threw away the box.

Hideaki: There's no other possibility, however. This theory matches up with the time of death and description of her death perfectly.

Ayako: There's still something suspicious though. Something is not right about that theory at all.

Rin: WHO, WHAT, WHERE?! Spit it out!

Saya: If you have something to say, please do what this maniac says.

Rin: Thank you very much for supporting me, Mrs. Actress!

Saya: Y-yes…

Ayako: First, let's consider how someone is to dispose of the box.

Hideaki: How someone is to dispose of the box?

Hideaki: …Oh! I get what you're saying.

Ayako: To dispose of a box that heavy, you'd need to stand by the edge of the lake.

Ayako: It would take about six minutes to walk down to the lake, and then toss the box into the lake.

Rin: So?! What are you talking about?!

Kyouko: I don't see anything wrong yet…

Ayako: No, I'm not done yet. Anyways, if it took six minutes between when Miyu left, which was 4:30, and when Miyu arrived at the lake, which was at 4:36…

Ayako: She had no time to lose.

Hideaki: So you're saying that if she turned around, the killer would have hit her in the forehead with this heavy weapon.

Ayako: And as a result of that, she would have fallen into the lake!

Suguru: W-what if she did?

Ayako: There was no sign of that though. If she fell into the lake, her forehead would be less bloody.

Hideaki: Her clothes would have shown signs of being wet as well.

Kyouko: So, maybe she walked forward _into_ the killer?

Ayako: Don't you think she would have seen the killer with the hammer, then ran?

Kyouko: O-oh yeah…

Suguru: Then what do we do? This just blew a huge hole into our logic!

Hideaki: If we discuss where that hole is, we can move on to a different topic.

Kouichi: O-okay, so to start, Miyu was walking to the lake to throw away the box that belonged to Monokuma?

Saya: She arrived at the lake, and stood at the edge to dispose of the box and its contents.

Hideaki: Is the hole we're referring to on what she did with the box?

Ayako: Think about it… if she turned around and was hit with the forehead…

Kichiro: Then she would have fallen into the lake, but there weren't no signs of that, were there?

Hideaki: After all that… we're back to square one.

Kyouko: O-okay, so Miyu wasn't killed by a hammer or anything like that then, because that could have easily been tossed into the lake.

Suguru: The murder weapon could still be the box!

Kichiro: Huh?

Suguru: Miyu sees the killer, she tries to take the box from the killer, she falls onto the floor, and then the killer slams the box on her head.

Kichiro: You're wrong! Dead wrong!

Suguru: H-huh?

Kichiro: She's not weak! Miyu is not that weak! She'd never make a silly mistake and not get out of the way!

Kichiro: So you're wrong!

Suguru: W-well, maybe she was just nervous, and didn't!

Hideaki: There's another reason why it's not possible though in that scenario.

Hideaki: There is no damage done to the box, but slamming it from that height would have definitely at least done something to the box.

Hideaki: At the least, chip it.

Suguru: Then what could it be?! How could Miyu have died?!

Ayako: I-it's true that we can't figure it out, isn't it?

Monokuma: Come OOOOON! You guys are being _so_ boring today in this class trial, aren't you?!

Monokuma: Alright, because I'm a super duper generous bear, I'll give you a slight nudge in the right direction.

Monokuma: You guys keep thinking about where and when Miyu was killed.

Monokuma: You've completely diverted off-topic from the main plot!

Monokuma: I will confirm that Miyu _did _die in front of the lake, by a large weapon that caused blunt force trauma.

Monokuma: Roll with that!

Hideaki: Monokuma, you are saying that we are straying off-topic, but what should we talk about then?

Monokuma: First off, you guys found nothing about the main murder weapon.

Kyouko: But we already talked about all we could with the murder weapon…

Monokuma: Is that so? Is that really so? Upupupu…

Ayako: _Is that so? Did we really finish our discussion?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: The main murder weapon?

Kouichi: It has to be **something involving blunt force trauma, right?**

Rin: W-wow! We are **tripping** over our thoughts here! Yahaha!

Suguru: B-but if the weapon wasn't the box...

Kyouko: ...then what could it be?!

Hideaki: Keeping in mind that Miyu did not fall into the lake either...

Kichiro: Where is this heading? Are we going to find the killer or what?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: the phrase: "tripping"_]

Ayako: I think I understand where Monokuma is going…

Monokuma: Whew! Finally! What a relief! Okay you guys, back to the trial!

Ayako: We keep thinking that the weapon is something she picked up and carried.

Ayako: However, she could have maybe, tripped on the way down?

Hideaki: Um, tripped? As in, she killed herself by accident?

Kyouko: What? Haha?

Kichiro: N-no? She couldn't have killed herself.

Kichiro: Even if it was by accident…

Kichiro: Even if it was…

Kichiro: She died 'cause she fucking TRIPPED?!

Ayako: It's hard to believe, but it's the only lead we got.

Hideaki: Carrying a large box like that, she'd have no control over her sight.

Saya: Not to mention walking down the hill.

Kichiro: Liars! You fuckin' liars! Don't… Don't fuck with me! Don't fuck with her!

Kichiro: Quit making her look fucking stupid! She couldn't have died from something as stupid as that!

Ayako: I don't want to believe it either.

Ayako: But it's our only lead right now, isn't it?

Kichiro: Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut the hell UP!

Ayako: _If he doesn't see the truth…_

Ayako: _We really won't get anywhere._

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

_Ayako vs. Kichiro_

Kichiro: "You fucking liar!"

Kichiro: "Miyu wouldn't have died from that!"

Kichiro: "Shut up!"

Kichiro: "You've got it wrong!"

Kichiro: "Screw you, Ayako!"

Kichiro: "Stop it! Just stop it!"

Kichiro: "**It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make any sense for Miyu to have tripped!**"

_Piece of ammo used: Monokuma File #5_

* * *

Ayako: What do you mean it doesn't make sense? You have to face reality when it hits you!

Ayako: That's what Hideaki told me, and that's what I'm telling you! Miyu died, because of an accident!

Kichiro: H-huh?

Kichiro: HUUUUUUUUUUUH?!

Monokuma: Huh? Huh is right, why are you guys patting yourselves on the back?

Ayako: What did you say?

Monokuma: Okay, so the murder weapon might not have been from an actual weapon.

Monokuma: But there is a murder weapon. I thought I confirmed that.

Kyouko: Wouldn't the murder weapon technically be _what _she physically tripped on?

Monokuma: You're too naïve! You are way too naïve!

Monokuma: Here's a new question for you: Why did she trip?

Ayako: What?

Hideaki: Are you saying there was something that made her trip?

Monokuma: Whoops! I've gave away too much already!

Monokuma: Sorry, but my lips are **sealed!**

Ayako: If that is in fact what Monokuma was saying…

Ayako: Then that means that if there was something that caused Miyu to trip…

Monokuma: I'll tell you this as a FINAL hint, that doesn't give away too much.

Monokuma: A class trial starts when a student kills another student.

Monokuma: One of you most definitely killed her!

Senji: So suicide isn't a form of murder in here?

Monokuma: Hmm, not a bad idea in general, but for this particular academy, no.

Taisuke: Hmm? This particular academy!

Monokuma: Jupalu! I said too much!

Suguru: W-what does "jupalu" mean?

Hideaki: Nothing, let's move on.

Ayako: So we did figure out that Miyu tripped over something.

Monokuma: Guilty as charged!

Ayako: But Monokuma also revealed there was something that made her trip.

Monokuma: Was it an accident? Was it a deliberate murder?

Monokuma: Figure that out yourselves! Upupupu!

Ayako: _Was it an accident? That's a good question._

Ayako: _Was it a deliberate murder? That's an even better question…_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: What did Miyu trip on that was the cause of her death?

Ayako: Secondly, how did she die from tripping? What caused her blunt force trauma?

Rin: Adadadada! This is so confusing, isn't it?!

Suguru: Let's see… she was walking to the lake…

Suguru: So she could have tripped forward and tripped on the box.

Hideaki: The contents of the box would have escaped then.

Hideaki: Besides, we aren't talking about that right now.

Suguru: R-right…

Kyouko: **What did Miyu trip on to kill her? **

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Candy Wrapper_]

Ayako: W-wait… No…

Ayako: Never mind, I take that back.

Saya: What were you going to present?

Ayako: N-nothing! Nothing at all!

Hideaki: Ayako?

Ayako: I wasn't going to present anything! Don't worry about it!

Rin: You mean you don't have any evi-evi-evidence? Wh-wh-why-why-why-how-how-fart-unicorn?

Kyouko: W-what was that even?

Senji: Ayako, if you were going to present something, you have to present it already.

Ayako: _But… this candy wrapper! It belonged to…_

Ayako: It belonged to…

Saya: It belonged to? What belonged to who?

Taisuke: Why is it that you are struggling so much?

Hideaki: A-Ayako? What's wrong?

Ayako: N-no! No, that can't be right!

Rin: Hmm, since Mrs. Ayako seems to be struggling, I'll present what I found in her steed!

Rin: This candy wrapper!

Hideaki: T-that wrapper? What does that have to do with this?!

Ayako: It's nothing! It has nothing to do with the case!

Rin: You liar! Think hard! Think fucking hard why it absolutely _kills!_ What is so important about that candy wrapper?!

Ayako: _Shut up Rin! Shut the hell up!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase eight\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**FOOTPRINT**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: T-the footprint… the muddy footprint…

Kichiro: Huh? H-Hideaki?

Hideaki: The muddy footprint… which she likely received from hiking…

Rin: So it wasn't my footprint! Woohee!

Kyouko: S-so! Miyu tripped on… She tripped on what?!

Saya: It seems like… she… tripped on Hideaki's candy wrapper.

Hideaki: What… what the hell?

Ayako: The candy wrapper you threw in the trash can… and it fell out…

Ayako: What the hell is this? Hideaki, you aren't the killer! You can't be!

Hideaki: I… did I…

Saya: This is an unexpected turn of events… I-isn't it?

Rin: Haha! It even got actress girl stammering!

Senji: S-so, a candy wrapper that Hideaki threw away, fell out of the trash can?

Hideaki: H-how does this make any sense?!

Ayako: I… I don't know. But, I have to tell everyone how it happened.

Ayako: I have to tell myself how it happened...

Saya: Wait a minute. I can't believe that this is the case.

Ayako: W-what?

Saya: Even if it is, you can't jump to that conclusion right away, right this second.

Saya: We literally just discussed the possibility of the wrapper being the weapon, causing her to trip.

Kichiro: S-saya's right... we should probably consider other options.

Ayako: _Other options? But what other options are there?!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase nine\=\=\**_  
_

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: I... **don't think it's true that Hideaki was the killer.**

Ayako: B-but -

Kichiro: H-he couldn't be!

Rin: Yayaya, this sort of sucks! My poor bro-bro!

Senji: In that case, let us talk about what is suspicious about the wrapper.

Taisuke: There's the **footprint.**

Kyouko: How did it get in front of the lake anyways?

Hideaki: I-I tried to through it in the trash can...

Kyouko: O-oh. So, it was in front of the lake that way.

Rin: Then I found it in the trash can! Yehehehehe!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The phrase "footprint"_]

Ayako: N-no... I have a way to confirm this.

Kichiro: Huh?

Ayako: We find Miyu's body, and we compare her foot to the footprint on the candy wrapper.

Ayako: If they match, then it's game over.

Hideaki: ...

Saya: ...

Kichiro: T-tch...

Senji: ...

Taisuke: Uh... Monokuma?

Monokuma: *crickets*

Taisuke: Are we perhaps allowed to take a snatch at the body?

Monokuma: No need. Their footprints are the same.

Monokuma: Whoops! I can't keep the spoilers to myself!

Taisuke: W-well that was just lazy.

Hideaki: ...

Ayako: W-what just happened?

Saya: So, she dropped the box and landed on it?

Taisuke: Or, she threw the box in the air and it slammed into her forehead.

Ayako: _Did I prove Hideaki to be the killer? An accidental killer?_

Ayako: W-what happened? Back at the lake?

Ayako: _I was just asking myself... I need to tell myself what happened._

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!**_

Ayako: The case starts the day before Miyu died, when Hideaki was still angry about everyone shunning him for his involvement with Monokuma despite his apologies. I found Hideaki, and we went down to the log cabin to talk about things. While he was telling me about his past, Hideaki unwrapped a bar of chocolate; a king sized one, which is why the wrapper is so big. He tried to throw the wrapper into the nearest trashcan, but it fell out of the side, and we didn't bother to pick it up to recycle it. The next day… Monokuma asks us to dispose of boxes containing some weird things that we don't really know about. When we disposed of the ones that Monokuma gave to us at first, Miyu offered to carry the final box. The box was a relatively large one, and she did not have much control over her sight. Walking to the lake to dispose of it… she tripped on the candy wrapper. The box was thrown into the air as a result of her tripping, and landed on her face. Miyu was still weak and brittle… while it may not have killed a normal person, it was enough to kill Miyu.

Ayako: I-I'm sorry Hideaki! But… I can't!

* * *

_**Fifth class trial complete! Live to see another day!**_

I had no words. Hideaki was standing there in front of me, his face blue with fright. Had he killed someone else? Was Miyu's cause of death cause of his carelessness? Did that even merit as a murder?

"W-wait!" I yelled. "Monokuma, that doesn't really count, does it?!"

"Hmm? What doesn't?"

"Hideaki's candy wrapper! So she tripped and the box fell onto her and killed her, okay, b-but that's not cause of Hideaki!"

"What the hell do you mean?" Monokuma asked. "Of course it does. If it wasn't for that candy wrapper, you think Miyu would have died? She would still be walking on this Earth, getting it on with Kichiro over there!" Monokuma pointed at Kichiro, who was sitting on the floor, grabbing his head.

"We have to kill Hideaki?" Kichiro said to himself. "I – can I do that?"

"Didn't I tell you guys?" Monokuma said. "You guys let your angry emotions drive you to be so certain that you'd be so happy that whoever killed Miyu would be gone. But that's not true, is it? Because Hideaki is the killer! You guys are filled with despair! Your carelessness resulted in a bundle of despair! You're emotions of hope are just giving despair more ammo to shoot you out! Despair will always win in the end! Upupupu! Yohohoho… Ahahahaha!"

"Hahaha! That's not that funny either," Rin said.

I looked at Hideaki, who was closing his eyes tight. Even now he was hard to read. Was he angry? Was he guilty? Was he afraid? His clenched eyes and balled fists resembled all kinds of emotions. Emotions that I couldn't read. Not even after all that time…

"Hideaki!" I screamed. "Y-you aren't going to die!"

"Yes he is!" Monokuma claimed.

"I'll take his spot!" I cried.

"No you won't!" Monokuma said back. "Hideaki is going to receive an awesome, **despair-inducing **punishment, so you all can't do anything about it!"

"H-Hideaki!" I sank to the floor, and cried my eyes out. Have I ever cried that hard before? Was Hideaki right that one time? I was living the perfect life, wasn't I? Yet, Hideaki was about to die in front of me, and by now, he was controlling his emotions perfectly. I looked up, and Hideaki had regained his composure. How could he have regained his composure? H-he was going to die! I crawled over to Hideaki, as Hideaki kneeled down. I hugged Hideaki's lights out. This was the last time… I would see Hideaki. The final countdown with him.

"Don't give into despair," Hideaki said to me. "You're better than that." Hideaki got up, and headed towards Monokuma.

"Is it Ballot Time yet?" Hideaki asked.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed. "Don't go! Stop!"

"Yes it is! Please vote using the keypad in front of you! I look forward to seeing the answers!" As all of us voted, Monokuma took out his trademark slot machine. The three faces that matched were Hideaki's. Clear as day.

"Hideaki!"

Hideaki took one look at me, and he offered another smile. This smile… his third smile… it was a fake smile. But it was to comfort me. Me… me… _me…me….._

"Know this, Monokuma," Hideaki said, facing Monokuma again. "I will fight against you, even if it must end in death. If it comes to death, I'll find a way. I'll kill you with my own two hands!"

"If it comes to death?" Monokuma asked. "What do you mean if it comes to death? Of course it's going to end in death! What else could it end in? I'm going to kill you right now, you know, so you can't do anything about it. Do you still have hope? Hope that you are going to live? Do you other nine still have hope for your life? Look at Hideaki; we all thought he was going to live to the end – but he's not even in the top three!" Monokuma laughed hard, and took out his gavel.

"Time for…"

"His…"

"Super…"

"Duper…"

"_**PUNISHMENT!**_"

The gavel slammed onto the red button, and a chain popped out of the ground, grabbing a hold of Hideaki by the neck. It was… time for… his punishment.

"HIDEAKI!"

My voice reached out to him, and as he turned around, he flashed his final smile. He raised his hand, and gave all of us a wave as he proceeded into the doors that would lead to his imminent death.

"I'll never forget all of you," Hideaki said. "Never." Hideaki turned again, and prepared for his death. His execution… His final moments were being presented in front of me.

* * *

Hideaki was placed onto a conveyor belt. His hands were tied with rope against a metal chair, and as the conveyor belt moved, he was taunted with pictures of his past and his time here at the academy. He advanced closer, and closer to a large hole in the ground. All of a sudden, the hole lit up with fire. The fire spread through the entire hole, leaving only a tiny bit of space at all, and Hideaki drew closer… and closer… and closer into the fire.

**APPROPRIATE BURNING EXECUTION OF DEFIANT ASSHOLE!**

Hideaki began fidgeting with his hands, struggling to untie the rope, but the chair moved closer and closer to the fire. Closer and closer… closer and closer… Sparks of the flames flew everywhere, spreading like stars across the room. Closer and closer he went… It was time to say goodbye to Hideaki. But, at the last second, I had hope. Hideaki untied the rope, and grabbed onto the conveyor belt. I thought he could escape. He would be able to escape. But he lost his grip, and fell into the fire.

* * *

How much tears did I shed at that moment? That exact moment when Hideaki died. How long did I cry? Everyone was crowding around me, trying to comfort me, but I had no words. I was at a loss. I had nothing to say or nothing to feel. I was just feeling despair. Endless amounts of despair. What was something that Hideaki told me that one time? Was it that despair needs hope to live? Or did I just come up with that now?

"D-despair," I said, diving into insanity. "Despair… there's nothing but despair…"

I looked up at all the faces of my classmates. The blurred faces of my classmates… their faces were burned into my mind. There was no more hope at all. It was crushed. Hope was crushed by unfair rules, in an unfair society. Death, death, death, death, death….

"What the hell?" I thought I heard Monokuma say to himself. "What the complete hell?"

His voice grew louder, and louder, and somehow, his anger brought me back to life.

"What the hell?! What the hell?! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Monokuma was blowing up with anger, from all directions. The room began to shake as Monokuma grabbed at his head, and let out one mind-numbing scream.

"The hell?! The hell?! The hell?!"

"What is it?" I demanded. "You already killed Hideaki. What are you so upset about now? Wasn't that your goal?"

"You actually think he's dead?!" said Monokuma with rage. "Lies! Lies! He's not dead! I saw him! I saw him untie the rope!"

"He still fell into the fire!" Kouichi yelled.

"Yadadada, even Monokuma is a little insane," Rin sighed.

"He's the fucking spy!" Monokuma snapped. "I have to find that asshole! He's not dead! He's not dead!"

Monokuma's words burned into my thoughts.

"S-stop, making me feel even worse," I said. "You don't gain anything from doing that.

"While I enjoy seeing you sad," Monokuma started, "I told you again and again, that kid ain't dead! I prepared that super awesome execution for nothing!" As Monokuma fumed on and on, he left the door and disappeared.

"_He's not dead? So, then what is he?"_

"Don't worry my friends," Taisuke said. "We are still up in arms against the puppetmaster. I suppose it is time to reveal find out what the legendary ace of spades card does. Are you ready, you guys?"

"_He's not dead… ace of spades… what did I just hear?"_

Was it white lies burning into my soul, creating seeds of despair and spreading them through my body? Or was it something better than that? Was it hope?

"You mean you know what it does?!" Kichiro asked. Taisuke shook his head, but from his pocket, he took out a slip of paper. Opening it, we were all taken back when we discovered what was on that note. It was a note written by Hideaki.

_That card is the key to open up all the secrets in this school. Use it to good use, Ayako. Regards, Hideaki._

"Do you still have the card, Ayako?" Taisuke asked me. I nodded, and checked my pockets. Taking out the card from my pocket, I held it between my two fingers. Hideaki knows what this does; he left it for all of us.

This is what he meant by attacking the Puppetmaster in his death… But is he really dead? Monokuma sounded like he was sure he wasn't…

This sound… it sounded like hope.

_**Continued in Chapter 6: (n)everyday life**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#18

Monokuma: What is life? Is life just something that we think is real?

Monokuma: Perhaps this doesn't exist, and for some other person in some other galaxy…

Monokuma: They think that they are an alien instead of a human!

Monokuma: It makes you wonder, you never know what someone else is thinking.

Monokuma: Am I the only human with this perception of planet Earth?

Monokuma: Does someone else have a different perception on life?

Monokuma: This definition of life… it despairs so… Upupupu.


	20. Chapter 6: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER SIX**

_Mysteries of Hope's Peak: Learning All Secrets of Despair _

(n)everyday life

I struggled to walk back into my dorm room that night. You could say I went under shock – watching Hideaki die right in front of me was the worst thing I had ever experienced in my life. Monokuma's goal – to drive me into the depths of despair, succeeded by a landslide. Why did Hideaki's life have to end this way? He said he'd tell me everything after the class trial. He's gone now… I stuffed my face into my pillow, and stayed in my room.

The day passed. The next day passed. The day after passed. I was stuck in my room – I had no more will to do anything. Kouichi would come by occasionally and try to give me some food. I'd take it, but I wouldn't eat it until I had to. I think I was stuck like that for a week or so, until I remembered something that Monokuma told us. Monokuma kept claiming that Hideaki was alive. But how could he have survived that? The answer is that he couldn't. He definitely wouldn't be able to, yet…

Something was telling me to believe him. That evil bear who took Hideaki away from me – should I believe him? Is this another one of his traps to plunge me into sadness? No, I couldn't think like that. Hideaki wouldn't want me to think like that. I'm headstrong – he knew that and he'd want me to avenge him. He definitely could not have survived that execution. But I'm still alive and well. I'd catch the puppetmaster, I definitely would. Taisuke said at the end of the last class trial that we'd start finding out the secrets of this academy.

It's about time for me to buckle up. I took a quick shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed outside my dorm. It was quiet and mysterious in the dorm hallways. Glancing at my watch, it was already 12:00 PM. By now, the others would most likely be at the cafeteria eating lunch. I ran down the hallway, out of the dorm, and to the cafeteria as fast as I could.

I'm going to try to avenge him. No, not try, I have to avenge his death. I swear to myself – I will catch the puppetmaster and give him a fitting punishment. We'd do it together.

I headed into the cafeteria, where I saw Taisuke fiddling with the card that I gave him earlier. The others were sitting down on the table, while Monokuma was raising his arms over his head and screaming at Taisuke.

"Give me my damn card back!" Monokuma squealed.

"Why is it so important to you?" Taisuke said, raising his finger over his mouth. "Does it hold the secrets of the school? Perhaps it can be used to track you down?"

"Give me my fucking card back, you con artist piece of shit!" Monokuma snapped.

"Ooh, language," Taisuke retorted. Monokuma ran around the room in frustration, but stopped at a halt when he saw me.

"Oh, Ayako, you aren't being a lazy bum anymore," Monokuma said. "That's nice to hear." Monokuma regained composure, and lied down on the floor, raising his legs in the air and resting his head on one of his paws. "By the way, since you're out, I assume you aren't filled with despair anymore?"

"O-of course not," I said. "Besides, you said it yourself that Hideaki couldn't have died. I have faith that he's alive somehow."

Monokuma stood up and faced me. "Huh? You think he's alive?"

"Y-you said it yourself!" I stammered. I looked around the cafeteria, and everyone was wearing grim faces; faces that looked like they knew something I didn't. "S-so I have hope left that he's alive. Isn't that right, you guys?" I faced the others, and their faces looked even darker.

"Sorry to tell Ayako," Monokuma said, creating fake cries. "B-but after the class trial, I took all day searching for Hideaki! I can confirm that he has disappeared – he is no longer with us! Those flames are stronger to burn someone to ash, leaving even the skeleton to disintegrate and turn into pieces of despair!"

I stared Monokuma, and slowly backed up to the doors of the cafeteria. "W-what?"

"You said you had hope?" Monokuma asked. "But now, I can tell you with confidence, that Hideaki is dead! Zilch! Quack! You'll never see him again!" Monokuma laughed, and faced Taisuke, who refused to look at either of us.

"That made me feel slightly better," Monokuma said, sighing. Monokuma raised his paws over his shoulders, and stared at Taisuke. "Okay, so you have that card with you. Big deal. If you don't know what it does, you'll probably never use it!" Monokuma spun in a circle, and hopped on top of Taisuke's head. Taisuke didn't react, and just sat there. "Sorry that I had to break the news to you," Monokuma said to me. I sank to the floor, and my eyes widened as Monokuma hopped off of Taisuke's head, and headed out the cafeteria doors.

Hideaki? Hideaki's really dead? There's no hope that he survived? Even if I knew that Hideaki was dead, hearing Monokuma's words back at the trial implanted some form of hope into me. But hearing that Hideaki's dead from the person who was most sure he wasn't; the only hope left for me hung on the strand of that card. That card that Monokuma tried so hard to get back – it was the answer to getting out of this coliseum. It was the answer into killing Monokuma; in avenging Hideaki's death.

"I'm going to avenge him," I said, letting my thoughts run wild. "Taisuke, that card, do you know what it does?" I glanced at Taisuke, who shook his head, twiddling with his fingers.

"I-I'm going to find out," I said. I got up from my slump, and walked confidently over to the cafeteria table. "Give me the card! I'll find out what it does!" Taisuke looked at me, his mouth open, and his eyebrows rising above his head.

"You want to have possession of this card again?" Taisuke asked. "Are you sure?"

"Hideaki told me Monokuma would target me if I had that card," I said. "But that means it's important – it means it holds the key in avenging Hideaki's death!" Slamming my fists on the table, I faced the others. "Don't you want to avenge his death?!" Everyone looked down at the floor, until Taisuke rose from his seat.

"I'll assist you," Taisuke said. "I want to take down the puppetmaster too."

"I'll help as well," Senji said, getting up. "Monokuma needs to go down."

"I-I want to avenge Hideaki too," Suguru said. "Even Roger does, right?"

_Bark!_

"I'm a contract killer," Kouichi said. "I'll find a way to help, even though I'm not really good at investigating and stuff…"

"I can't do much neither, but I'll try," Kyouko said with confidence.

"Though you already know you'll need my help," Saya said with a smirk.

"Miyu… she died at Monokuma's hands," Kichiro said. "I'm going to avenge her like you're going to avenge Hideaki… that's my resolve."

"Y-you guys," I said…

"Yahaha! I may not look it, but I loved my little stepbrother to death!" Rin got up and shook her head around. "Let's take down that damn puppetmaster, yeah?!"

"Even Rin," I gasped.

"What?! I have emotions, even if I'm crazy!"

I nodded, and looked at everyone. We all got in a circle, and put our hands together. Today will be the day that we will take down Monokuma. We will find all the mysteries of this school together. We will avenge our friends that fell under Monokuma's will. We would… We would take Monokuma down.

Unfortunately, that was only a prayer we made out loud. As soon as we left the cafeteria in an attempt to find out the purpose of that card, the intercom rang.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Attention, you guys!" _Monokuma said over the intercom. _"Please return to the graduation plaza right away! You all are acting rather defiant right now, so I need to put an end to that, don't I? Upupupu, please hurry ASAP!"_

We all looked at each other as the announcement ended. Even though we decided to fight against Monokuma, we forgot how powerful of an enemy he was. Of course he could put a foil to our plans.

"You hold the card," I told Taisuke. "You can hide it better than I can." Taisuke nodded, and stuffed the card into his shirt pocket.

"Are you ready, friends?" Taisuke asked, as we progressed to the plaza to find out what Monokuma had in store for us.

Would it be even worse despair than what we already achieved? Or would this thing that Monokuma had to show us be an accidental progression into what we were all searching for? We all needed to hope; and we didn't want anyone to take that away from us. We needed it to stay alive. We needed it to stay united.

We needed it.

We arrived at the graduation plaza fairly quickly, and Monokuma hopped onto the podium. He gave us all a wave, and took out a slip of paper that was folded in fourths.

"Hello!" Monokuma said. "I appreciate you all joining together on such a short notice!"

"What is that piece of paper?" Senji asked.

"Oh? This old thing?" Monokuma unfolded the piece of paper, and refolded it into a paper airplane. He swooned, and threw the paper plane toward us. I caught the plane as it came closer to me, and unfolding it, I lifted my right eyebrow. It was a picture of a question mark.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Aren't you curious about the meaning of that question mark?" Monokuma asked. "If you are so confused, allow me to explain. You see, you all possess a dark secret that even you don't know about. So I'll tell you everything you don't know about yourself, if you manage to graduate!"

"You mean you expect us to kill each other again?" I asked. "Don't be ridiculous. None of us needs to know anything."

"That's right," Taisuke said, raising a finger. "We all know how we are going to overthrow you. This card that I hold in my hand right now is the key into unlocking all your secrets."

"What card?" Monokuma asked. Taisuke realized he didn't have the card in his hands, and reached for it at his pocket.

"This card, I mean," Taisuke said. "We will definitely overthrow you. You will no longer be able to continue your life, Monokuma."

"Eh, whatever," Monokuma said. "I just tried, ya know? But whatever. Explore all you want. See if I care." Monokuma then hopped off of the podium, disappearing in thin air.

"That's ridiculous," Kyouko sighed. "He still wants us to kill each other!"

"Of course he does," Suguru sighed. "Oh well, you okay Roger?" Roger barked in approval, and he rubbed against Suguru's leg.

"Anyways," Taisuke said, "it's about time we discover what this card does. Anyone have any leads?"

"If it is so important to Monokuma, it has to control something," Senji observed.

"What could the card control though?" Suguru asked. "It's not like there's anything else worth exploring. We opened up all the areas, so we can't explore anymore."

"I… have an idea," I said. "It's a longshot, but…"

"What is it?" Taisuke asked.

I beckoned everyone to follow me, and I took everyone down the trail to the shack where I found out Hideaki was Monokuma's mole. I entered the shack, and everyone attempted to crowd in, all of us barely fitting. I was being crushed slightly against the wall by Senji, and I struggled for air.

"I apologize," Senji said. "Though it probably wasn't a good idea anyways to all crowd in here."

"I can't open the door!" Kyouko said. "My arm is stuck!"

"Do you have the card?" I said within breaths. Taisuke managed to take out the card from his pocket, and I took the card with my mouth. In the wall of the shack, there was a small hole that seemed like the card would fit in. I placed the card into the shack.

I knew what would happen next. I knew because of the stack of cards I saw in the shelf as I entered the room. I knew because Hideaki must have been exploring the chambers underground after our talk at the log cabin. As I put the card into the slot in the wall, the floor below us opened, and we fell into darkness. Where were we falling? We could only found out when we hit the ground.

I landed on a soft mattress, and as I glanced at everyone, they all landed on mattresses as well. Looking around, we were in a large hallway that you'd find in a space station. There were automatic doors along the walls, and there were pictures of Monokuma painted along the walls.

"What is this?" Suguru gasped, rubbing her head. Roger began barking wildly, as we all stared around the hallways.

"May I ask how you knew of this?" Senji asked, getting up from the mattress. "How did you know that this dark hallway would be here?"

"I had a feeling," I said. "Something about Hideaki told me. I actually didn't know about the key in the wall though, I just had a feeling something was important inside that shack."

We all split up after that, and explored the new hallway. The hallways split into a crossroads a few meters ahead, so I went with Kouichi and Senji. Suguru, Kyouko, and Taisuke went as a group, and Saya, Kichiro, and Rin went as a group. Splitting up, in my section, we found doors leading to a sub-zero fridge, a morgue, and a control room. The morgue was unlocked, but it didn't show any evidence of being used in a while. Otherwise, we couldn't get the doors from to the fridge and the control room open. It was frustrating that we couldn't do much progress about it, but there wasn't anything else of importance underground. There was storage, but that was closed anyways.

Heading back to the center of the crossroads, we all united and shared our discoveries. Taisuke's group found a room filled with security cameras. Taisuke said that they couldn't open the door, but from the window, they could tell that the room was probably used to spy on us. Taisuke could also see a door inside the room, connecting to another one. Everything else was locked and deemed unimportant. Saya's report was disappointing, only finding an AV Room as the unlocked door. There was nothing important in Saya's discoveries, disappointing her greatly.

"I regret this greatly," Saya said sighing. "But there's nothing of importance that I saw down here."

"It looks like this area is being used as Monokuma's areas of operations," I said. "Though it's strange…"

"You're right. Monokuma hasn't come to confront us once, has he?" Taisuke said.

"Whaddya mean?" asked an unpleasant voice.

We turned around, and saw Monokuma tilting his head in confusion.

"I knew you were here all along," Monokuma said. "But it's not fair for me to conceal the secrets of the academy completely! It's going against my duties as a fair bear!"

"S-so, those locked doors are important?" Kouichi asked.

"Not all of them," Monokuma said. "I was just too lazy to unlock them all." Monokuma brought out a fan and began to cool us off, though unwanted.

"Anyways, you saw what you wanted to see. Mind leaving now?"

"You want us to leave?" Kyouko asked. "Are you afraid of us?"

"No, no," Monokuma said. "You can come back whenever you want after this. I just have something to do today. Besides, you guys probably don't want to be punished for something so stupid."

"P-punished?" Kouichi stammered.

"Please leave now," Monokuma said. "You can find the exit on your north end right there. There's a staircase that takes you up into a secret little area, where you can easily get back into the academy!"

With haste, the nine of us ran towards where Monokuma was pointing to, and we climbed up the stairs for what seemed like an eternity until we reached the backdoor to the cafeteria.

"The cafeteria," I said. "This staircase leads to the cafeteria?"

"It looks like it," Senji said. "Heading back down this staircase means we won't have to rely on that card."

"Still, I am disappointed a bit," Taisuke said. "I was expecting the card to do something, a little more _extravagant._"

"It looks like they're just keys," I said. "I saw a stack of them back at the shack."

"Either way, we made a major development in the secret of the puppetmaster," Senji said. "We have at least that to look forward to." I nodded, and glanced at my watch. It was still 4:00 PM in the afternoon. Rather early, we ate dinner and talked about our discoveries until 5:00, which was when Taisuke decided to go back underground to investigate more.

Heading back to the dorms, next to my room, I saw Hideaki's nameplate. His room was right next to mine; I forgot about that. I twisted the doorknob, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was unlocked. Looking around the room, I recognized so many things. Hideaki's spare eyepatch was on his desk, and his bed… it still smelled a little like him. How creepy was that? I was snooping around his room, and I recognized the scent of him immediately. Was that how much I missed Hideaki's company? Exploring the room a little more, I opened up the drawer to the desk, and I gasped when I discovered a note within the cabinet. It was addressed to me.

_Dear, Ayako:_

_If you are reading this, you are most likely saddened about my death, and right now, snooping around my room._

You are too amazing, Hideaki… I continued to read.

_I hope you get to read this soon, because I guess it's easier to tell you about my feelings through death. I mean, in the beginning, it was hard to talk to you. I was so happy to find someone that I could freely talk to though, because as our relationship furthered, I began to open up a little more. Do I like you as a friend? Or do I like you more than that? I'm not really sure; I never knew how to distinguish these feelings I had because I was never taught to manage them._

I began to tear up a little as I continued to read the note.

_Anyways, I don't know when I'm going to die by the time you read this. I know I'm going to die soon though, because I wouldn't live long as Monokuma's mole. Did I think I could live by following his will? I'm not exactly sure. But if you don't know why I became a mole, it was simply a matter of Monokuma taking hostages that were important to me._

So this was written before my discovery of Hideaki being Monokuma's mole? That means… Hideaki knew he'd die soon anyways after defying Monokuma. I guess Hideaki didn't think he'd be executed though.

_If you discovered the secret of the shack, that's great, because I can't tell you much about the secrets of the academy. The truth is, I don't really know. Monokuma only informed me of the bare minimum. If you don't know, there is something under the shack. I don't know how, but I believe it holds an important key to Monokuma's identity. Of course, I have plenty of faith in you; you'll probably be able to deduce all this. I'm ashamed I couldn't be of more help to you._

Hideaki… he knew all this. It was mind baffling. He was mind baffling. There was still a little bit left in the note.

_One last thing; I have found out something that may be of use to you. If you know about the shack, you'll know about the card in the slot. That's why it was so important – that entire underground complex holds the secret of Monokuma. But that's not what I'm talking about right now. If you visit the AV Room, you'll find –_

"Yoink!"

Monokuma stood on top of Hideaki's desk, holding the note in his paw.

"Yo!" Monokuma said. "This would have been a big spoiler alert for you!" He waved the note into my face. "I don't want all the surprises ruined right now! That'll totally suck!"

"U-Um, what's in the AV Room?" I asked.

"Shoot! You read that part?" Monokuma asked. "That's terrible!"

"So something important is in there?" I asked.

"N-n-no! Something totally unimportant is in there! Something nonexistent is in there! You shouldn't go in there for your life!" Monokuma squealed and scrambled around the room.

"You're not a great liar," I said to Monokuma.

"That's not true!" Monokuma said. "Anyways, get out of Hideaki's room! It's totally disrespectful to his soul!"

"What? You're the one who executed him."

"Stop shifting the blame and get out!" Monokuma swatted at me, and I staggered outside Hideaki's room. Monokuma shut the door behind me, and I glanced at my watch. It was still only 5:16. But something important was in that AV Room. Monokuma said I couldn't go in there for the rest of the day, but at 12:00 AM, the day is different. I'd go investigate then, and I'd find whatever was in that room!

I struggled to stay awake till 12:00 AM, but when it arrived, I headed outside my room. I tried not to make a racket, but I accidentally woke up Kouichi and Saya.

"What the hell are you doing?" mumbled Kouichi. "It's midnight."

"I-I do not deserve to be woken up like this," Saya said. "W-why are you awake?" I pointed outside the window towards the cafeteria, and indicated that I was going to explore the chambers.

"I'm going down there," I whispered. "It's a brand new day, technically."

"But, it's dangerous," Kouichi said, with a hint of fear in his voice. "J-just go in there tomorrow with the rest of us!"

"No, I need to find out now," I said. "Hideaki left me a note, and he said I could find something in the AV Room. Something _is_ important down there."

"S-so I didn't make a useless discovery," Saya mumbled. "That's a relief, so I should go see it myself, huh?" Saya tripped over, and stumbled out of the dormitories.

"Are you coming?" I asked to Kouichi. "Looks like Saya is."

"W-well, you really shouldn't go alone, so I guess I should," Kouichi said nervously. He twiddled with his fingers, and the three of us headed behind the cafeteria, and down into the secret staircase. Walking down… further and further… we finally arrived in front of the AV Room.

"I wonder what's in there," Saya said, now completely awake. "If it is so important like you said it was."

"Only one way to find out," I said, and I opened the door, and turned on the light.

There was nothing but despair in this room.

Taisuke was sitting in a chair. There was blood spilling out of his chest, and his mouth was bound by a handkerchief. His hands were tied behind him, and he was bound to the chair as well. Along with all of this, his finger was raised, and frozen in a stuck position, and in his other hand, held the card, tightly gripped within a fist.

There was no doubt about it.

Taisuke was sitting in that chair, dead.

_**Continued in Chapter 6: Investigation**_

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#19

Monokuma: You know what bugs me the most when I get excited?  
Monokuma: It's what follows after excitement; pure as hell disappointment.

Monokuma: I stand in one corner, expecting something so totally kick-ass, but instead, I get something lame.

Monokuma: But you see, disappointment and despair are two very different things.

Monokuma: Despair is despairingly pleasurable.

Monokuma: Disappointment is just despairingly irritating.

**AN: I'm sorry this chapter is so awful. I know this one was so low quality, but going into it, it was rather hard to write an (n)everyday life for this one. (It was still ten pages on Word though, so shush, :P). Anyways, my quality of writing has been going down, sadly.**

**On another note, daily updates are no longer guaranteed. School is starting back up meaning I own't have time to write for daily updates. I'll try my best though to update as fast and as best as I can.**


	21. Chapter 6: Investigation

Monokuma: Upupupu! I didn't see _that_ coming!

Monokuma: On what a relief! One of my biggest worries – Taisuke – is now out of the way!

Monokuma: Upupupu, who could have committed this murder?

Monokuma: Was it one of our magical students below? Ahahaha!

* * *

Kouichi ran into the corner and threw up. I could hear his painful vomits as I stared at Taisuke again. How was it possible? How could someone kill again? On top of that, how could someone kill one of our prominent leads into solving the mysteries of Monokuma? My head was spinning, as I heard the intercom ring on. I knew fully what to expect by the time that Monokuma's voice rang throughout the school. He would mention words of pure and uttermost despair.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Attention! A corpse has been found! We're going to start a class trial pretty soon, so please investigate to the best of your abilities!"_

"A corpse… has been found?" Kouichi said from the corner. "H-how could Taisuke die? How could he die at a time like this?!" As the three of us recovered from our discoveries, I texted the others who'd probably be exploring the campus right now for the dead body.

_The dead body is at the AV Room in the catacombs. Please come quickly._

After a few more minutes, the others quickly arrived, and were horrified to find Taisuke dead in the chair. After we all regained our composure, I quickly headed towards Taisuke's body. There wasn't any time to waste. I had to solve the mystery of Taisuke's death. Taisuke was murdered very unnaturally, it seemed like he was tortured in a way. I could barely believe that anyone would go through all the trouble of killing Taisuke like this.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Taisuke's Injury: There is evidence that Taisuke was tortured.

"Aloha!" Monokuma said, appearing from nowhere. "How are you guys? It's sort of late, isn't it? 12:20 AM, I'm almost angry that the murder had to happen so late! A bear has to sleep soon, doesn't he?"

"Enough," Senji said. "You came here to give us the Monokuma File?"

"Of course I did," Monokuma said. "It's tradition, isn't it?" Monokuma took out the Monokuma File from behind his back, and opened it up. It read:

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Monokuma File 6: The sixth Monokuma File. Reads: Victim: Taisuke Saionji | Time of Death: 10:03 PM | Taisuke's cause of death was a stab wound in the chest.

"Is this it?" I asked. "This hardly tells us anything."

"Huh? Of course it does," Monokuma said. "Taisuke's dead. He died at 10:03 PM. He died because of a stab wound. That's like a rope around the killer's neck!"

"Is it really that simple?" Senji asked. "There's bound to be more than just this."

"Well, of course, if you find anything else by yourself," Monokuma said. "I don't know anything else!"

"Holy crap!" Kyouko said. "What kind of lie is that?!"

"I'm an honest bear!" Monokuma said. "Don't accuse me of being anything else."

While the others fought with Monokuma, I reexamined Taisuke's body. His red hair was indistinguishable from the blood I found dripping from his forehead. There was no mention of any head injuries in the Monokuma File, and it gave us only the bare minimum – he was killed by a stab wound. However, there were clearly more wounds than that. Looking at the body carefully once again, I deduced that there was an injury to Taisuke's head.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Head Injury: Taisuke was struck in the head at least once by something. This is not the cause of death, so it was probably used to weaken him.

Looking at the surroundings, I saw that Taisuke was bound to this chair. A handkerchief was tied around his mouth, and his hands and body were tied to the chair by rope.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

4: Handkerchief: A handkerchief was tied around Taisuke's mouth.

5: Rope: Rope was found, tying Taisuke's hands and body to the chair.

"The cause of death was a stab to the chest," Saya said. "It seems like we was weakened heavily beforehand."

"You saw the head injury?" I asked to her. Saya nodded, and began to run her hands over Taisuke's body. Running it over everywhere, she leaned against his chest with her palms. Gasping, she lifted his shirt up.

"Five stab marks," she said. "W-whoever killed Taisuke… killed him with five stabs to the chest."

"Why so much?" I gasped. "Who would kill Taisuke to such a brutal point?"

"Someone wanted to kill him painfully," Saya sighed. "Either way, we at least know the method of how he was killed."

"The method?"

"I think what most likely happened was this," Saya started. "Someone took something to knock Taisuke out. They bound him with the rope, and then stabbed him five times. I have no idea why they would go through that much trouble, though."

"Maybe to distract us?"

"If that's the case, this was a very poor attempt."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Method to Murder: Taisuke was stabbed five times, as evidenced by the stab marks found on his chest. He was most likely knocked out, then tied up. After that, he was killed.

"I wonder if there's anything else to this case," Saya sighed. "It seems fairly cut and run at this point."

"We still didn't find any of the weapons used to attack Taisuke," I said. "Along with that, the murder happened at 10:03 PM. No one had an alibi by that point, meaning that they'd have plenty of time to retrieve the weapon, than dispose of all the evidence."

"We still haven't done a thorough check of the room," Saya said. "That's only conjecture to the point of whether or not the killer actually hid the items or not."

"So let's look around the room then."

We informed the others to look around the room for anything suspicious looking. While checking the area out, there didn't seem to be anything that could be used to incriminate anything, nevertheless the absence of a murder weapon.

"Maybe we're looking too thinly," I said.

"What do you mean?" Saya asked.

"I mean – are we even sure Taisuke was stabbed by a knife? The Monokuma File said it was a _stab_ wound, not a _knife_ wound."

"What's the point of that?"

"If it's something small like scissors, it'd be much easier to hide than a large knife."

"That's true," Saya said. "Though that's more baseless conjecture, you know."

"Y-yeah, I know," I responded. "Just a thought."

"Also, we shouldn't limit our investigation to just the AV Room, rather we should search all of the catacombs."

"Right," I said. "So for any opened areas, there was… well, there was only the morgue…"

"That would be a decent place to hide evidence," Saya said. "But if it's the only unlocked area, I can't imagine that the killer would hide it in there."

"We should check it out anyways," I said. "We might find something."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Saya said. She walked out of the AV Room right after that, and I followed after her in a hurry.

On the way to the morgue, I was just thinking to myself. Who would want to kill Taisuke? What purpose does killing him have? Did it have anything to do with Monokuma's incentive? I couldn't imagine anything like that; Taisuke was acting as our trump card, and one of us killed him. Was it really us who killed him? Could it have been the puppetmaster? Questions breached my mind, and sooner or later, we found ourselves in front of the door to the morgue.

"I hope we can find something in here," I said.

"We'd better," Saya said. "I have no intention of dying during this class trial."

I opened the door, and headed inside. It was time to discover the truth.

* * *

_**Location: The Morgue | Time: 12:49 AM | Chapter Six**_

The morgue was rather… strange. It was strange in the fact that it didn't feel scary at all. I mean, when you go into a morgue, I expect like horrible decorating and a bunch of dead bodies, but this looked like a normal room. It seemed like the morgue was combined to act as storage for dead bodies and a crematorium. There was a large fireplace in the corner of the room where things would get cremated. Other than that, there were freezers that would maintain and keep dead bodies preserved. Saya got the nerve to open one up, but there were no bodies in any of the freezers.

"I guess Monokuma disposed of the bodies," I said. "Except Hideaki's, of course."

"He wouldn't exactly have a purpose to keep them anyways," Saya said. "But honestly… who keeps a morgue under the school? Never mind the catacombs."

"It was probably build by Monokuma," I said. "That way—"

"Huh?" Monokuma asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"What the hell?!" Saya screamed. "You dirty toy!"

"I told you! I'm not a toy! I'm Monokuma! Your headmaster!"

"Headmaster my ass!" Saya screamed.

"Anyways, I didn't touch these catacombs. They were here when I arrived, you know!"

"What?" I asked. "S-so, the owner of this school built these catacombs beforehand?"

"I honestly don't know why either," Monokuma sighed. "But it acts as for a control panel, upupupu…"

"Y-you use this to keep tabs on us?!" I asked.

"Shoot! More spoilers!" Monokuma slapped himself with his paw. "I'm no good at this 'keeping secrets' thing, am I?"

"It appears so," Saya sighed. "Now get out of my sight, or tell us why you came.

"Yes ma'am!" Monokuma said. "But I thought you assumed I came around because you were confused about the catacombs."

"W-well, yeah," I said. "We know you well enough though, so it's probably worse news than that."

"No one died, don't worry," Monokuma said. "That redhead is the only dead one right now."

"That's not what we wanted to know either," Saya muttered. "You're saying that was the only reason you came all this way to talk to us?"

"Hmm? Whaddya mean all this way? It wasn't any trouble at all!"

"N-no trouble?" I asked.

"Yup! It took like, half a minute to find you guys."

"I can't imagine you running here that fast," Saya said.

"No, really though, we're getting a little off topic," Monokuma said, taking out a plate of waffles. "Don't you think you should investigate Taisuke's murder instead of talking to me?"

"You're the one that came here," I sighed.

"I guess that's true," Monokuma said. Monokuma threw the plate of waffles away, and gave us a wave. "Well, bye you guys." Monokuma exited the morgue room, and left us to ponder the reason he came to us. Could it be to warn us about something?

"Anyways, let's see if there's anything suspicious about this morgue," Saya said. "We're just wasting time standing around here and doing nothing."

"Y-yeah, sure," I said.

Taking a look around the morgue, I noticed something interesting. The fireplace didn't have any evidence of being used to cremate bodies; however, there was blood on the opening to it. The opening was metal, and the top was covered in blood. Not sure whether or not this was related to the case, I investigated the inside of the fireplace. There was blood found where the top of the opening and the fireplace met, but there was nothing else to suggest Taisuke was thrown in there or anything. This was probably important either way.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

7: Blood on Fireplace: Blood was found on the fireplace in the morgue, used to cremate bodies.

8: Cremation Fireplace: The fireplace was not used to cremate or burn anything, which would make sense since there were no burn marks on Taisuke's body.

"Well, there's blood on the fireplace," I said to Saya. "It's likely Taisuke was here in some way."

"I also found something," Saya said. "Take a look." Saya stretched her arm out, and revealed a small kitchen's knife.

"It looks like this was the murder weapon," Saya said. "At the very least, this has to be one of the knives used to attack Taisuke."

The knife, covered in blood, was found in the trash can to the entrance of the morgue.

"What an idiotic place to hide evidence," Saya said. "The distance between the morgue and the AV Room is too obvious."

"It could be a red herring," I said.

"I don't think so," she said. "There's no real way to plant that much blood, especially using the blood packets in the infirmary. There would be too much blood to be shed."

"That's true," I said. "But you know; this is probably important.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

9: Small Kitchen Knife: Blood was found on this knife and in the morgue. This was most likely used in the attack against Taisuke, though the location of this knife was strange.

"I guess that's it," Saya said. I scanned the room one last time, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary at all. That was interesting an interesting visit – and there was definitely something useful we got out of it. The things we needed to know was how the fireplace was used, and if there was another knife used. That knife was sharp, but I don't think it was sharp enough to kill Taisuke – even with his other injuries. I mean, he was Taisuke.

The two of us headed out the door and headed back into the AV Room.

* * *

_**Location: The AV Room | Time: 1:01 AM | Chapter Six**_

Heading back into the AV Room, I found that most of my classmates had disbanded to search somewhere else. Kouichi and Kyouko remained in the room.

"Yo!" Kouichi said to us. "Look what we found!"

"It's kickass!" Kyouko exclaimed. "Something real important!" Kyouko brought out her phone, and texted me the information.

_We found a knife!_

"A knife?" Saya asked, sneaking a peak at my phone. "We found a knife as well."

"Huh?"

"There was a knife at the morgue," I said. "It was sort of small though."

"That sort of sucks for us," Kouichi said, scratching his head. "We thought we found something important."

"Don't be a dumbass," Saya said. "Anything like that is important anyways."

"Well, here's the knife," Kyouko said, taking it out of her pocket. "There's lots of blood on this one."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

10: Kitchen Knife 2: A second kitchen knife found at the scene of the crime. There is a lot more blood found at this knife than the other one.

"God, that's gross," Saya sighed. "Why is there so much blood on this one?"

"By the way, can we see your knife?" Kouichi asked. Saya took out the knife from her pocket, and showed it to Kouichi. Kouichi took it in his hands, and weighed it. There was clearly more blood on the other kitchen knife than this one, and on top of that, the other kitchen knife was significantly larger.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

11: Knife Comparisons: The first kitchen knife we found was small and didn't have a large amount of blood on it, while the second one was larger and had a significantly larger amount of blood.

"I just wonder which knife was the actual murder weapon," I said. "It's most likely not the small one, but we can't rule out that possibility."

"It's obviously not the small one though," Kyouko said. "We can just –"

"We can't rule out any possibility!" I snapped. "H-Hideaki taught me that, so, let's just listen to his advice. The small knife definitely could have called the finishing blow!"

"O-Okay," Kyouko stammered. "Sorry."

"What's with you and Hideaki?" Saya sighed. "Honestly, Hideaki was just a quiet and strange kid. He was smart and helped a lot, but I never saw him surviving this far at all."

"W-what?" I asked. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Hideaki was weak," Saya said. "If the fact that we were ignoring him caused that much emotional damage, his outer appearance does amplify his personality quite well. Yes – he was weak. Maybe not physically, but emotionally and mentally, he was quite a wreck."

"Shut up!" I snapped.

"Ho? What was that?" Saya asked. "Did someone as lowly as you talk back to me?"

"I'm not lowly!" I said. "I'm a piano player! Hideaki wasn't weak! Y-you don't know what happened to him as a kid!"

"Is that so?" Saya asked. "I'd love to hear what made this strong child so strong."

"S-Saya, you should probably drop it," Kouichi said.

"I won't listen to an awful assassin," Saya said. "I've never liked Hideaki from the start. He was antisocial, creepy, and rude."

"A-and you're not rude?" Kyouko asked.

"So tell me, Ayako," Saya said. "Why is Hideaki so special?" My anger was seething out of me like crazy. Right after Hideaki died, she feels she can spit on him like that?

"You don't know anything about him," I said, my head tilted downwards. I clenched my fist, and I struggled not to punch Saya square in the nose. "You really don't. If you're going to spit on him like that, why do you need to know?"

"Ha!" Saya said. "I don't need to know. If you won't tell me, why should I give a damn about it?"

_*Smack!*_

I did it. My anger exploded, and I slapped Saya across the face. My palm was red, but her cheek was redder.

"You filthy peasant," Saya said, tilting her head back at me. "How dare you slap me?"

"Th-that escalated quickly," Kyouko said.

"You guys, stop it." Kouichi got in between us, and pushed us apart. "Saya, can't you have any sympathy for Ayako? Weren't you shocked by his death at all?"

"I expected him to be killed, not for him _to_ kill," Saya said. "Besides, a lame ass killing like that. He tripped Miyu accidentally, what the hell was that?"

"Shut up!" I screamed. "You expected him to kill for real?!"

"No matter," Saya said. "I'm done here." She left the AV Room quickly, and turned and faced me again. "Are you feeling despair right now? Is it because I was talking smack about Hideaki? Or was it because I was telling the truth?"

"What the hell do you mean?" I asked. "Hideaki is much stronger than you. I know it."

"That's the problem," Saya sighed. "You or Hideaki will never be stronger than me because you let sentimentality get in the way of everything." Saya walked out soon afterwards, leaving us to take in her awful words.

"That fucking diva," I said, with clenched teeth. "Just because she's a famous actor… she thinks she can talk about Hideaki like that."

"You really care about him, don't you?" Kouichi asked, with a monotone voice. I nodded.

"I want to believe he's alive though," I said. "Monokuma said it himself though, he's dead for real."

"I'm sorry," Kyouko said. The three of us were silent for a while, and it was depressing. An awful mood swept through the room.

"Anyways, we should look for more evidence," I said. "We can't waste time."

I looked around the room one final time. Was there anything incriminating about this body? Anything?

"There's his bloody head," I started. "His bloody chest. And the bloody card…"

"What?" Kouichi asked. "The card is bloody?"

"Y-yeah," I said. "So?"

"Isn't that a little weird?" Kouichi said. "His whole arm holding the card hasn't been bloodied at all."

"So only the card is bloody?" I asked. "That's… strange."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

12: Bloody Card: The card Taisuke referenced to as his "trump card," is the only bloody thing on his arm.

"Looks like we're done here," I said. "I wonder what the others are doing."

"I doubt they actually found anything," Kyouko said. "I mean, there's really nothing to see anywhere other than the catacombs."

"Anyways, I'm sorry about Saya," Kouichi said. "She's really insensitive, huh?"

"Hideaki's not weak," I said. "I know he's not. He's the strongest person I know."

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Well, decent investigation you guys! But only decent! Not even good! You guys are only decent! Ha! Anyways, let's head to the park gazebo for the sixth class trial! Woohoo! Exciting, huh? The big six, the number of you guys are really dwindling! Will there be one less survivor after today? We'll see! Upupupu!" _

"The sixth class trial," I said. "This class trial… I hope it's our last."

"I can't imagine anyone killing anyone else," Kyouko said. "I mean it this time."

"I don't even think Saya will kill anyone," Kouichi said, shrugging. "We need to head over to the gazebo though."

I nodded, and the three of us headed for the park. At the gazebo, everyone else was already waiting for us, meaning that no one else investigated in the catacombs.

"Good thing you're finally here!" Monokuma said. "Ready to start another class trial? I know I am!" With that, Monokuma pulled down the lever, and took us down to the courtroom. We went further and further downwards, and entered a brand new courtroom. "Do you like my re-decorating?" Monokuma asked. The entire courtroom was filled with wallpaper of Monokuma. "I made it myself!"

"It's time to find our next culprit," Saya said. "Let's get this over with."

Even if I hated Saya, she was right. We needed to find our next culprit.

We'd find out who did it. We'd find out…

In the class trial to live or the class trial to die!

_**Continued in Chapter 6: Class Trial**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE**===

#20

Monokuma: There are such things called "boundaries."

Monokuma: There are different ways people can interpret this.

Monokuma: People who call boundaries as personal space are real stuffy people.

Monokuma: They can't stand to create any real relationships with anyone – ever.

Monokuma: People who call boundaries as borders to different states…

Monokuma: …those are the politicians. The legal eagles. The robber barons.

Monokuma: Those people are the kind of people I hate.

Monokuma: The kind of people everyone hates!


	22. Chapter 6: Class Trial

Monokuma: Upupupu! I think I actually thought Taisuke would survive!  
Monokuma: But then again, these teenagers are so unpredictable, huh?  
Monokuma: I wonder if they're going to be able to pick up on the killer for this trial.

Monokuma: This is going to be FUN! Ahahaha!

* * *

==The death of Taisuke Saionji!==Taisuke held the secret of the "trump card!"==Who would go so far as to torture Taisuke?==

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **sixth** class trial. You all know the drill.

Monokuma: Finger the **TRUE** villain, and the villain will be **PUNISHED**, leaving the rest of you to enjoy the rest of your lives in the academy!

Monokuma: However, finger the **WRONG** villain, and instead, **YOU **guys will be **PUNISHED**, leaving your deceiver to leave, **FREE & CLEAR!**

Monokuma: Let's see… I'm not exactly sure how to start this trial.

Saya: It's true that this trial is rather interesting.

Senji: What should we talk about first?

Ayako: _Hideaki isn't here… I have to fill his role._

Ayako: Maybe we should talk about how Taisuke was killed.

Saya: You're using Hideaki's strategy to bluff the truth out, huh?

Ayako: W-why you…

Saya: Pay no mind to me. We need a place to start anyways.

Ayako: _Y-yeah. Let's do this!_

Ayako: _Let's catch the killer of Taisuke!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: We know that **Taisuke was murdered due to a stab wound…**

Senji: Ayako investigated the body and found **three** stab wounds.

Suguru: With the stab wounds, there was also a **head **injury, wasn't there?

Kouichi: With the head wound, and the stab wounds…

Kouichi: **…are we sure that the cause of death was the stab wound?**

Suguru: Secondly, where was the weapon for his head injury?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Monokuma File 6_]

Ayako: The cause of death was definitely caused by a stab wound to the chest.

Kouichi: E-eh?

Saya: It clearly states that in the Monokuma File… did you read it at all?

Kouichi: S-sorry.

Saya: Anyways, so it's true that the death was from a stab wound.

Kouichi: But, Taisuke was sort of strong, right?

Senji: What do you mean?

Kouichi: He's not the kind of guy that can be caught off-guard.

Rin: Yeh! This bitch be right!

Kouichi: Don't you mean, "son of?"

Rin: This bitch be right! I'm talking street! Yohoho!

Rin: Anyways, I've tried to sneak up on and seduce Taisuke manymanymany times.

Kyouko: S-seduce?!

Rin: Shut up bitch! I've gone months without riding ANY disco sticks!

Ayako: E-eww… let's just talk about something else.

Rin: Anyways, he caught me in the act each time. Foooop!

Kouichi: Each time?! How many times did you try to do it?!

Suguru: L-let's not talk about that right now. That's sort of uncomfortable.

Roger: Bark!

Kyouko: A-anyways, I think Rin is right too.

Kyouko: I didn't sneak up on Taisuke ever, but whenever I approached him from behind, he turned around.

Kichiro: So he would have easily been able to tell that the killer was coming?

Saya: Is that not baseless conjecture? You guys must just have big feet.

Kyouko: My feet are small, thank you very much!

Rin: I can't have big ass ugly feet and be a ballet dancer! Stupid bitch!

Ayako: I don't think the best thing to do right now is to fight with each other…

Saya: She's correct. We should get back on topic.

Senji: Anyways, it's true that Taisuke was stabbed in the chest.

Senji: However, which one was the finishing blow?

Rin: What's that sunglass dude?!

Senji: He has three stab wounds.

Senji: However, there is no proof of which stab dealt the finishing blow.

Suguru: Can we go off on anything at all?

Senji: In addition to that, how did Taisuke get that head wound?

Saya: That does seem to be part of our top priority right now.

Kyouko: But what should we talk about first?

Kichiro: I think it's probably important to talk about the head injury first.

Saya: That could indeed lead to Taisuke's death.

Ayako: _What could have been used to knock out Taisuke and place that injury on his head?_

Ayako: _It could only be one thing._

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: Let us first discuss the matter of Taisuke's head injury.

Kichiro: We don't know **anything about his head injury.**

Kouichi: Does… anyone have any leads?

Rin: Maybe a fucking vase?! Smack!

Senji: There were **no glass shards** at the scene of the crime, though.

Rin: The hell to my theory then!

Kichiro: Did anyone figure anythin' out?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Blood on Fireplace_]

Ayako: I think I have an idea of how Taisuke got that head injury.

Rin: Spit it out then! Yahaha!

Kichiro: What is it Ayako?

Ayako: In the morgue, there was a fireplace used to cremate bodies.

Kyouko: A fireplace used to cremate bodies?!

Suguru: Under a school?!

Ayako: A-anyways… there's a metal door that you open to throw stuff into the fireplace.

Ayako: On the top of that, there was blood. I think the killer somehow jammed Taisuke's head in there.

Rin: Mmm… OBJECTION!

Ayako: Objection?

Kichiro: Y-yeah, I can't really accept that either.

Ayako: Why not? It seems reasonable?

Kichiro: We established before that Taisuke could feel the presence of others.

Kichiro: He would've been able to escape, mostly.

Saya: Though that is more likely than not…

Saya: …I think Ayako is on the right track.

Senji: I believe so too.

Senji: Unless you can explain the bloodstain on the fireplace.

Rin: Hmm… NOPE! I can't!

Kouichi: But how did Taisuke get subdued then? I don't think he got pushed towards the fireplace and then slammed into it.

Saya: That's considering that Ayako's theory is correct.

Senji: On top of that, we should find out why Taisuke went into the morgue in the first place.

Ayako: _There are just more and more questions coming in after another. _

Ayako: _Can we really solve the mystery of why Taisuke went into the morgue? We have to finish this though._

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kichiro: How did the killer manage to slam the grate in Taisuke's head?

Kouichi: Or in short, how did they manage to get him close to it?

Saya: Did **something subdue him?**

Senji: Or was he snuck up upon?

Rin: **No way** he was snuck up upon! Yoohoo!

Suguru: Hmm… this is so confusing.

Roger: **Bark!**

Kyouko: We're never going to figure this out!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Small Kitchen Knife_]

Ayako: I think I have an idea of how the killer could have subdued Taisuke.

Saya: So you saying he was weakened in a way?

Ayako: Yes, and you found this out, Saya.

Saya: Me?

Ayako: This small kitchen knife.

Kouichi: I-it has blood on it!

Ayako: Yes, because it was plunged into Taisuke in a hurry.

Kichiro: Oh! So he passed out from that?

Saya: I doubt he was passed out. If he was, the killer would have finished it off.

Kichiro: Eh… then what the hell, man?

Rin: Rather than being passed out… perhaps the killer chased after Taisuke towards the fireplace…

Rin: YAHAHA! THAT WAS SO OFF CHARACTER OF ME!

Suguru: Ugh… you don't really have a specific character…

Rin: WHAT WAS THAT?!

Suguru: N-nothing!

Kyouko: Anyways, I think that might actually be possible.

Kyouko: Taisuke is backed up to the fireplace, and then the killer slams his head in.

Ayako: That definitely seems likely…

Saya: However, only blood was found on the top of the metal grate.

Ayako: Huh?

Saya: If he was backed up to it, surely there would be blood elsewhere.

Kichiro: Maybe the killer cleaned it up?

Saya: Then he would have cleaned the whole grate, not just the front of it.

Kichiro: Y-yeah… so what gives then?

Suguru: Maybe our theory was wrong?

Senji: I do not think it is incorrect. However, it appears we are at a mystery.

Ayako: Maybe he wasn't backed up into the fireplace.

Ayako: It's completely possible that he was just forced there headfirst.

Saya: Which theory should we go for?

Rin: I vote AYAKO'S for no apparent reason!

Saya: Alright. We'll go with your theory Ayako.

Ayako: G-great?

Saya: Anyways, so we figured out how the fireplace was involved with the murder.

Senji: In addition, it seems like the small knife wasn't the weapon used to give off the finishing blow.

Kichiro: So that means the other knife was, right?

Ayako: _The other knife was used as the murder weapon._

Ayako: _That sounds about right._

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: So considering that the **small knife was most likely not the murder weapon…**

Saya: We can assume that the **other knife is.**

Kichiro: So, how did the killer manage to do it?

Kyouko: They probably **took Taisuke into the AV Room** by carrying him.

Suguru: After that, then **they stabbed him** **and ran?**

Kouichi: Hmm… something about that doesn't sound right.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Method to Murder]_

Ayako: They stabbed him, and ran? That doesn't sound right at all.

Kouichi: Y-yeah! See, I told you!

Saya: What sounds so wrong about it?

Senji: The Monokuma File says that he died from a stab wound.

Senji: I don't imagine that anything is wrong with Suguru's statement.

Ayako: They stabbed him and ran? No, that's strange.

Rin: Well why the fuck IS IT so strange?! Blah, blah, blah! It's strange! OMG! WHY?

Ayako: W-well, because!

Ayako: He was stabbed five times.

Senji: F-five? That's a little extreme…

Rin: Yaha! Ouch, I felt that!

Saya: Right… you investigated his body, didn't you?

Senji: However, it still is possible he stabbed him and ran. Five stabs, and then the killer left.

Ayako: No, first off, it's weird at all that they'd try to relocate the body, and then kill Taisuke right then and there.

Ayako: First off, if I were to relocate a body, I'd kill Taisuke first in the morgue, and then I'd take him to the AV Room to act as a red herring for the scene of the crime.

Rin: Woof! As a _professional_ maniac, I would go with Ayako's method!

Ayako: Uh, thanks?

Ayako: Well, secondly, it's also weird that they'd bring Taisuke _to _the AV Room, just to stab him, don't you think?

Ayako: The whole subject of that is just really odd.

Saya: Are you saying that the murder did not happen in the AV Room?

Ayako: No, it probably actually did happen in the AV Room.

Kouichi: I mean, me and Kyouko found the knife there.

Saya: So let's get our thoughts straight for a second.

Suguru: I thought that the killer stabbed Taisuke, and ran away.

Ayako: However, the odd thing about that is that Taisuke was taken to the AV Room, and killed there.

Saya: So you are suggesting that there would have to be a purpose to take Taisuke to the AV Room?

Ayako: Yes. It wouldn't make sense for the killer to waltz in the AV Room and _then_ kill Taisuke.

Senji: However, Ayako, perhaps we are thinking about this in the wrong way.

Ayako: Huh?

Senji: We hammered into our minds that the murder weapon was the larger of the two knives we found at the scene.

Ayako: The small kitchen knife is like what you would find at an Olive Garden to cut chicken. It wasn't even a steak knife.

Saya: Indeed, it would be hard to kill with that small of a knife.

Senji: It's not impossible. Taisuke suffered five stab wounds to the chest.

Senji: Who is to say that the other four resulted from the large knife and the large knife only?

Ayako: _He brings up a good point…_

Ayako: _But that doesn't sound right. That doesn't sound right at all._

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Senji: We think that the **large knife **was the cause of death.

Senji: However, what if it was actually the **small **knife?

Rin: Tch! That knife was PATHETICALLY small!

Saya: The knife wouldn't make a good tool as a weapon for murder.

Senji: Be that as it may, it naturally doesn't make sense for the killer to relocate Taisuke into the **AV Room.**

Senji: Therefore, it is possible that the **small knife was stabbed into Taisuke more than once.**

Saya: Indeed… if Taisuke was stabbed with that small knife multiple times, he may have been killed.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Knife Comparisons_]

Ayako: No, it still doesn't make sense for the small knife to be the murder weapon.

Senji: Hmm? Why not?

Ayako: The blood found on the small knife was much less than the knife found on the larger knife.

Ayako: We are assuming this right now. The smaller knife was plunged into Taisuke four times to kill him, and then he was taken to the AV Room, and then stabbed with the larger knife as a red herring.

Senji: Correct?

Ayako: But that doesn't make sense. The smaller knife might not have had _that_ much blood on it because of its size…

Ayako: But even so, there would have been a lot more blood at the morgue. There was none on the floor, and there is a surprisingly small amount on the small knife.

Senji: What if the knife wasn't used to stab Taisuke four times? Perhaps the killer stabbed Taisuke with the small knife a few times, maybe two. Then, he still would have died.

Rin: Nope! Off! Wrong! Bzzt! No one is that fucking stupid to stab him three times afterwards!

Senji: So the other four stab wounds belong to the larger knife then?

Saya: It appears so.

Ayako: _I feel… I can feel Hideaki's intelligence. It has definitely rubbed off on me._

Ayako: A-anyways, should we talk about something else now?

Senji: Continuing where we left off…

Suguru: I thought they stabbed and dashed.

Kyouko: But it's odd to think that Taisuke was murdered in the AV Room.

Saya: Within the catacombs, the distance between the morgue and the AV Room is relatively large.

Saya: It would certainly take a bit of effort to transport Taisuke into the actual AV Room, wouldn't it?

Rin: Taisuke was a bit of a _hunk!_ A heavy, heavy _hunk!_ I couldn't lift him for my _life!_

Ayako: Because of troubles in the morgue, Taisuke was taken to the AV Room. But there had to have been a purpose for that.

Saya: Indeed… I do not think that the killer would have taken Taisuke into the AV Room without any reason.

Rin: Not even _I _would! And I am a HUGE fan for shits and giggles!

Senji: So it appears the next thing on our agenda is to talk about why Taisuke was taken into the AV Room.

Ayako: _Why Taisuke was taken into the AV Room?_

Ayako: _That's obvious._

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**TORTURE**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: It's sort of obvious why Taisuke was taken into the AV Room, isn't it?

Rin: Hmm? Adeadeade? What does that mean?

Ayako: If you just so much as look at the state of body Taisuke was in…

Ayako: You can tell he was tortured.

Saya: He was tortured?

Kyouko: T-that's insane!

Kouichi: A-are you sure?

Ayako: I'm pretty sure!

Rin: Eww! LOL! How can someone torture another person?!

Ayako: _These guys don't seem like they believe me._

Ayako: _I should probably convince them._

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: You are saying that Taisuke was **tortured?**

Kouichi: That's a ridiculous thing to say! Who would torture Taisuke?

Senji: C-can we really believe that Taisuke was… tortured?

Kyouko: **There's not even anything to suggest that!**

Suguru: R-Roger, you can protect yourself, r-right?

Roger: Bark!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Rope_]

Ayako: If you guys can remember, Taisuke was bound to the chair using rope.

Senji: H-he was bound to the chair?

Ayako: You didn't notice?

Suguru: The rope could have been used to, uh, give him rope burn!

Ayako: There's the handkerchief too though. It bounded his mouth.

Suguru: E-Eww…

Saya: I suppose your claim is correct then Ayako.

Saya: But still… to suggest that the culprit tortured Taisuke is a pretty big claim.

Ayako: It had to happen that way. It couldn't have happened in any other way.

Kyouko: Hmm, okay, so Taisuke was tortured.

Kyouko: But why would the culprit want to torture Taisuke?

Saya: It's true that the probability that Taisuke was tortured is very high.

Saya: However, what would anyone gain from torturing Taisuke?

Ayako: Huh?

Saya: It makes more sense than not, to just kill Taisuke right then and there, and then put him into the AV Room.

Saya: The rope and handkerchief did prove that there was a torture involved.

Saya: But no one would gain anything from that.

Senji: Perhaps the killer had a strange mindset?

Saya: What do you mean?

Senji: Only someone sadistic and crazy would gain anything from torturing Taisuke.

Senji: We should discuss about that now.

Saya: That sounds right… Yeah…

Ayako: _Someone __**insane**__ enough to torture Taisuke?_

Ayako: _I don't know… but here goes nothing._

* * *

**/=/=/phase eight\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: Who out of all of us is insane enough to actually **torture Taisuke?**

Kichiro: Right now, the ones alive are **me, Ayako, ****Rin****, Kouichi, Senji, Saya, Kyouko, and Suguru.**

Senji: Someone would have to have a crazy mindset to even think about torturing someone for **no reason.**

Kichiro: D-don't look at me, I didn't touch him.

Kouichi: M-me neither!

Suguru: Roger would have like, barked, then, or something.

Roger: Bark!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: The phrase "torture Taisuke."_]

Ayako: Someone tortured Taisuke… for no reason, just for sadistic gain. That would have to be…

Ayako: I'm a little afraid to say it…

Senji: I see where you are coming from.

Senji: I'll say it for you. Someone to kill someone without any motive or gain would have to be…

Senji: Rin.

Rin: ME?!

Suguru: O-oh! Right! Because Rin is crazy!

Rin: Say that to my face, asswhore!

Suguru: Eep!

Rin: Right, right, right! I see where you're coming from!

Rin: Because I'm a crazy bitch, I have the perfect mental fucked up mind to torture someone for no reason, eh?

Rin: Heh… heh heh…

Rin: Well **sorry honey!** I'm not the culprit this time around!

Ayako: What?

Rin: Sorry bitch shit, but it's true! I'm not the killer this time! I mean, I learned my lesson from attacking my poor stepbrother!

Rin: To be honest, I thought it was someone else! Not Hideaki! I was like, oh shit dude! I stabbed my stepbrother!

Rin: I was like mentally crying! Ahahaha!

Senji: I'd appreciate it if we didn't stray so off topic.

Rin: Aaaanyyyywaaassss, just because I'm **crazy** means I have to have committed this **crazy** murder? Real court doesn't run like that, you queen bee bitch!

Ayako: Q-queen bee bitch?

Rin: See, you have to have _evidence!_ Evidence that I was the crazy fucked up culprit this time around!

Rin: You guys are like, throwing all your money into roulette or poker! It's all just luck isn't it, to win such a huge pot!

Rin: Well lemme tell you fishies, this ain't a casino! It's your lives on the line here!

Saya: Either way, you're acting rather defensive.

Rin: Of course, Lady Bitch-a! I'm not going to let y'all accuse me of something I _**clearly**_ didn't do!

Rin: It's silly! It's tongue twisting! It's fucking terrible!

Rin: So nope! Lips sealed!

Ayako: So, you want evidence that you did do it?

Rin: Hmm? Yeeesssss? Sorrrttaaa? Did I not already saaayyy thhaaat?

Ayako: U-uh, okay.

Ayako: _I still have that evidence that I have._

Ayako: _Maybe I can link it to Rin… and then convict her for the true villain she is._

* * *

**/=/=/phase nine\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

Rin: Ahaha! DUMBASS!

Rin: Saya, your hair is actually SO FUGLY!

Rin: Rin, Rin, Rin! It's a fanservice trial for Rin fans!

Rin: Want me to flash you?!

Rin: Nee ya hahaha!

Rin: I didn't do it honey!

Rin: You ain't got chicken shit on me!

Rin: **Prove it! Did I actually kill Taisuke Saionji, our redhead trump card?**

_Piece of ammo used: Bloody Card_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: Maybe… you had something to do with that bloody card we found on Taisuke's hand?

Rin: WTF! Girl, you are GRASPING over here! It's sort of fun to watch!

Rin: No, see, that card over there, it's probably a red herring!

Saya: Ayako, maybe if we can explain its presence, we can convict Rin.

Ayako: _Explain the presence of the card?_

Ayako: _Well, fuck._

* * *

**/=/=/phase ten\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Rin: Y-Y-You think that the card is related to me? N-N-No…

Rin: AHAHAHA! THAT WAS **SOOOO OFF CHARACTER!**

Senji: It is true that there were no injuries on Taisuke's arm.

Senji: So **why is the card bloody?**

Rin: Who wants to play a little poker? Pleeeaasssee?

Saya: The card… is bloody…

Saya: Let's talk a look at where he was stabbed.

Monokuma: Hoi! I got a picture right over here!

Kouichi: It looks like he was stabbed three times in **different places of his chest…**

Kichiro: **Near his heart…**

Kyouko: And in his **shoulder.**

Suguru: What made the card so bloody?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_Piece of ammo used: the phrase: "Near his heart…"_]

Ayako: Let me take a wild guess over here… I think I know how the card got bloody.

Rin: Was it because of me?! Oho, I'm shittin' my pants over here!

Ayako: Taisuke had a shirt pocket near his heart.

Saya: And you noticed that?

Ayako: Moving on…

Ayako: It's entirely possible that the card was inside the shirt pocket.

Ayako: The killer stabbed him in the heart, but the card was inside the shirt pocket.

Senji: But the card was in Taisuke's hand, was it not?

Ayako: The placed it in his hand as a red herring.

Saya: Indeed, that would explain the lack of blood on his arm.

Ayako: You see? The only person with a mentality for senseless torture is Rin.

Ayako: And I'll expose her crime right now!

* * *

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!  
**_Ayako: Our crime begins when Taisuke goes alone to investigate the mystery behind the catacombs. Taisuke enters the morgue, unknowing that he was being followed. He was being followed by Rin, and with a small knife, she stabbed Taisuke, weakening him. She then was able to knock him out using the hatch. After that, she tied him up, and brought him into the AV Room. This was in purpose of her own insanity, and while Taisuke was struggling, Rin killed him relentlessly. All because…

Ayako: She's not Super Highschool Level Ballet Dancer! She's Super Highschool Level Insane!

* * *

Ayako: Well? How about that Rin? You killed Taisuke, didn't you?

Rin: Hmm? Really? You think that can incriminate me?

Rin: Well, too bad honey! I **still** didn't do it!

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: But, the card –

Rin: Blah, blah! You just tried to force in something to make it look like I was the killer!

Rin: Well guess what! The card doesn't matter to anything!

Rin: Okay, sure, the card was bloodied because of a stab to the heart.

Kichiro: But, uh, how does that make Rin the killer?

Rin: Ding, dong! Ding, dong! It doesn't!

Rin: Ahahaha!

Ayako: I – I guess it doesn't…

Kichiro: So are we back to square one? I mean, we can't convict Rin.

Rin: Yup, yup, yup! It would be a blind jump into the land of nothingness!

Ayako: I… I don't really know what to do now.

Saya: It doesn't seem like we are going to get anywhere. What else can we talk about?

Senji: Does it… seem like this is the end?

Ayako: N-No… it can't be.

Senji: What else might we talk about this time?

Ayako: I… I don't know… Can we talk about anything else?

Saya: We've already talked about how the murder was carried out.

Saya: The murder weapon was also determined.

Kouichi: We know everything about what happened to this case!

Rin: But who is the killer? Ahaha!

Ayako: Is this what Monokuma wanted?

Ayako: He wanted someone to commit this perfect crime?

Senji: It appears…

Ayako: No… we can't give up. We… we…

Ayako: We should at least talk about something else!

Rin: We can't though, bitch!

Rin: Let's just call it a day, eh?

Ayako: No! No!

Monokuma: It looks like this trial is about to end very soon… Upupupu…

Monokuma: How's about it? You guys make the call, want to start ballot time?

Monokuma: Or do you think there's something else that we can discuss?

Ayako: Ballot time?

Ayako: You mean, we have to rely on our luck for this?

Monokuma: Yup! For each individual, there is a 1/2 chance. Times that by another eight, and that's the probability that you guys will catch the right killer!

Kichiro: That's not true at all.

Ayako: _It's over for us?_

Ayako: _I-it's… over?_

Ayako: _No…_

Ayako: _Hideaki's words… they can't be in vain._

_*BONK!*_

Ayako: Huh?

[_Ayako turns as she sees a video tape that had hit her head.]_

Ayako: _W-what is this? _

Ayako: _How did this get here?_

Ayako: _There's a note on this thing._

Note: Ayako, present this quickly. It's a copout, but it will lead to the correct murderer.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

13: Video Tape: A video tape was thrown at me by an unknown location. But who would've?...

Ayako: What?

Saya: What is it?

Ayako: O-oh, nothing.

Monokuma: So, is it time for ballot time yet, you guys?

Monokuma: Ahaha!

Suguru: W-wish me luck, Roger.

Roger: Bark!

Ayako: N-no, hold on. Let me present something else.

Monokuma: Hmm? Present something else?

Saya: What are you babbling about?

Rin: Yoohoo! We have anything to talk about?

Ayako: Y-yes. I believe I have a piece of evidence that can lead to the true killer.

Saya: Is that right? Interesting.

Ayako: _If I present this…_

Ayako: _What would be on this tape?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase eleven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kouichi: W-w-what else can we discuss about this case?!

Monokuma: Ayako? Do you think you have something to present to us?

Monokuma: **If you do, please present this evidence right now!**

Saya: This better be worth it, Ayako.

Monokuma: *crickets*

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Video Tape_]

Ayako: Monokuma, if allowed, may we use a TV monitor and play this video tape?

Monokuma: Hmm? A video tape? Aren't those things like stone age old?

Ayako: Unless you aren't focused on a fair trial, I ask that you please allow us to play this video.

Senji: What is on that tape?

Ayako: I-I don't know.

Saya: You didn't think about watching it beforehand? Never mind presenting it.

Ayako: J-just watch it. It should reveal everything.

Ayako: _What was this tape?_

Ayako: _How did it land in my possession?_

* * *

_**Sixth class trial complete! Live to see another day!  
**_

We all stared blindly at the screen that Monokuma had opened up in front of us. To us, what was displayed on the screen came as a huge shock. The thoughts that had swarmed me before, was what would be in this tape. Unfortunately, this tape showed the exact moment of Taisuke's death. We looked at the screen, and we saw no other than Senji Kiyomasa, torturing Taisuke to death.

"T-this tape," Senji stuttered. "What is this?! How did this footage get on a tape?"

"You recorded this?" asked Saya through clenched teeth.

"Of course not," Senji said. "But this shouldn't have been recorded! How… How?"

"What is this?!" Monokuma asked. "Any footage recorded to the security cameras should only be limited to me! Limited to me and me only!"

"I can't believe… Senji killed someone," Kyouko said. "W-why?"

"Why did I kill someone?" Senji asked. "I can't answer that this moment. I'm still under the shock that this was even recorded! This… this is what's called a copout."

"Senji," I started. "You killed one of the people that could have gotten us all out of here. We deserve an explanation."

Senji took a few moments to think, and shook his head.

"Well, I guess I should go ahead and ruin Senji," Monokuma said. "Do you want me to tell you? The whole truth between the death of Taisuke Saionji? I would be obliged to, in my sexy and hilarious voice!"

_In the Catacombs – last night._

"Senji," Taisuke said. "What are you doing here?" Senji entered the morgue with a small kitchen knife, and headed towards Taisuke.

"Heh, what's that knife for?" Taisuke asked. "Anyways, are you here to assist me?" Senji made no comment, and Taisuke turned away. "You know, the fights we had were pretty fun, huh? I guess as a con artist, I couldn't make much of anything. Those fights felt like the only time I had a friend."

Senji flipped the knife between his fingers. "You know the secret of me, don't you?" Taisuke closed his eyes, and nodded.

"You are my friend, aren't you Senji?" Taisuke brushed his red hair out of his face, and adjusted his eyepatch. "When we get out of here, be sure to play plenty of poker with me. I'd appreciate it… I'd appreciate it immensely." When Taisuke turned around, he expected Senji to be laughing and smiling with him. But Taisuke turned around, and encountered a bloodthirsty killer, only wanting knowledge for revenge.

"O-oh," Taisuke said, looking at the knife in his chest. "I see. This is how it is?"

"We were never friends," Senji said, as he shoved Taisuke to the incinerator. "I just want to know the truth."

"No," Taisuke said. "I-I couldn't tell you the truth… Because I didn't want to see you… I don't want to see you fall on your knees."

"What are you talking about?" Senji asked, as he slammed Taisuke's head into the grate.

Senji, using his masculinity, picked up Taisuke's body and carried him into the AV Room. He prepared rope and took out a large handkerchief from his pocket, and tied him up to a chair. And then Senji waited patiently. Patiently he waited, for Taisuke to wake up, and for Taisuke to tell him the truth. This did not go in vain, and eventually, Taisuke awakened to find Senji holding a knife in his pocket. Taisuke was tied with rope to the chair, but he was still smiling.

"I-I see you have me tied up," Taisuke said. "Do you plan on forcing the truth out of me?" Senji only nodded in response, and ran the knife against Taisuke's body. "If you think threatening me will get the truth out, you are dead wrong, Senji."

"We'll see about that," Senji said, and Senji plunged the knife into Taisuke's chest. Taisuke flinched, and leaned against the back of his chair.

"That hurt," Taisuke said.

"You aren't going to spill it yet?" Senji asked. Taisuke shook his head, and Senji stabbed Taisuke once more in the shoulder. Taisuke screamed in pain as Senji took the knife out of Taisuke's shoulder, and he stabbed Taisuke one more time. "I don't get it. Why you won't just tell me about my past."

"I-It's because," Taisuke said, as Senji took another knife out of his chest. "I-it's because we're all friends…"

Senji slammed the knife into Taisuke's heart, and dealt the finishing blow.

"I wouldn't do that to a friend," Taisuke said with his dying breath.

Monokuma finished telling us the story. The story of Taisuke's death, painted with despair. Taisuke thought of Senji as a friend – but Senji didn't return those feelings, so he held no remorse for murdering Taisuke at all. That was depressing. I looked back to Senji, who took off his sunglasses.

"Upupupu!" Monokuma laughed cynically. "You see you guys, Taisuke wanted to hide Senji's talent from him, because they didn't want Senji to be plunged into the depths of despair! You guys want to know what Senji's talent is? You guys want to know, don't ya? Well, I'll tell you now, it ain't going to be pretty!"

"What is my talent?" Senji asked with clenched teeth. "Tell me now!"

"You really want to hear it?" Monokuma asked. "Well, alright! Your talent, is what is known as…"

"**Super Highschool Level DESPAIR!"**

What? Super Highschool Level Despair?

"W-what is that?" Senji asked. "You mean I excel in 'despairing?'"

"Well, sort of," Monokuma said. "It's a lot more complicated than that. But guess what? That's a topic for a different date!"

"S-Senji," I said. "You ruined the chances for any of us to escape! How could you?!"

"I'm sorry, Ayako," Senji said. "I suppose I was a bit selfish."

"A bit? Holy hell, I almost got falsely convicted!" Rin said, laughing up a storm. "I _highly_ doubt that you were just a BIT selfish! Neehee!"

"In any case," Senji said. "We still need to vote, don't we?"

"That we do!" Monokuma said, and he took out a slot machine. "I'm not particularly satisfied with the conclusion of this trial. The video tape was such a cheap tactic, but you know, it appears that I will have to let my anger loose with this." The slot machine started to run, and three faces appeared in the slots; Senji's faces.

"Super Highschool Level Despair," Senji said. "That doesn't sound good."

"No it does not," Monokuma said. "At least not to you. But you know what else doesn't sound good for you?"

"Are you talking about my execution?" Senji asked. "In any case, let's get it over with."

"Upupupu!" Monokuma said. "Yes sir! Your execution is fantastic! Filled with oozing pieces of total DESPAIR!"

* * *

Senji, tied up to a chain, was lifted into a shark tank. As the chain let loose, the top opened, and Senji opened his eyes. The mood was depressing inside the tank, and the death of Senji would definitely be a distraught one. Any evidence of this could be reflected through the title of Senji's title. The title being…

**DROWN WITHIN THE DEPHTS OF YOUR DESPAIR!**

A window opened within the shark tank, and a bucket poured a dark black liquid into the tank. As the liquid surrounded all corners of the tank, Senji screamed in pain as the liquid completely engulfed Senji in death. After a few moments, the black liquid covered the entire tank. You couldn't see anything except for the black goo of despair. The top opened, and the tank tipped over, and out came a skeleton. The skin had been eaten by the despair, and what was left was not even an empty shell of what Senji used to be. It was the crumbs of his remainders.

* * *

"T-the liquid ate at his skin," Kouichi said. "W-what the hell?"

"That's so fucking messed up!" Rin exclaimed. "Even by my standards!"

"Anyways, we're finally done, right?" Suguru asked. "We're done!"

"Most importantly, what is this despair that you keep referring to, Monokuma?" Saya asked. "You keep telling us these tales of despair. I don't get it one bit."

"Hmm? It means nothing at all," Monokuma said. "I just want you all to despair badly!"

"D-despair," I said. "W-we don't be taken over by despair! So just stop it!"

"Whatever," Monokuma retorted. "We'll see by the end of this. Anyways, what was the business with that video tape?"

"What was that?" I asked.

"Where the hell did you get that video tape?" Monokuma asked. "It had to have been during the trial. If you got it beforehand, you obviously would have presented with it before. So what gives?"

"I-I honestly don't know," I replied. "I wish I knew."

"Oh, fine, that's okay too," Monokuma said. "Not like it would have been fun for all of you to die at once."

What did give? How did the tape get thrown to me? Or… was it because…

The trial had ended at 2:00 AM. I quickly went into the dormitory, and Monokuma told us that we would be able to sleep in. Figuring out the secrets of the school would have to wait. But I couldn't sleep. Why did the tape give me such a confusing feeling? I couldn't describe it exactly, but this feeling was like a mix of confusion and happiness. I knew one thing though. If the tape was thrown at me from a distance, there was only one possibility.

Was maybe _he_ still alive?

_**Continued in Chapter 7: (n)everyday life**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#21

Monokuma: Don't ya, don't ya, wish you were hot like me?  
Monokuma: Don't ya, don't ya, wish you were hot like me?  
Monokuma: I flashed my titties on this group of ladies, yo!

Monokuma: I flashed by dingaling on this group of manliness, yo!

* * *

**AN: Finally, Chapter 6 has ended! This was probably the worst out of it all and I am not proud of my work with it. But oh well, what's done is done. I really rushed it at the end and I don't know why, but I hope you guys liked it nonetheless. Sorry if my writing lately hasn't been up to standards, ^^**


	23. Chapter 7: (n)everyday life

**CHAPTER 7**

_Grab a Pint of Ice Cream; Despair Will Get Worse_

(n)everyday life

* * *

**AN: This was never going to be a long chapter, so just expect this to be an introduction to the investigation soon to come. It's short because it's a simple introduction to the investigation for this chapter. Perhaps the story is coming to an end soon ;)**

**Ode 30: Also, unfortunately, no double murder. Sorry if any of you all were looking forward to it, but I didn't fit it into the story when I initially wrote this. Again, I'm really sorry if that disappoints. **

* * *

The first death was from Akira Yamazaki, who was killed by Aaron Tsuukyama. I remember all the shock I had gotten from that case, but the strength I thought I walked away with. That was a lie, as the second death was from Megumi Sato, committed by someone who I thought was my best friend; Noburu Mochizuki. To make it worse, I discovered that Rin Nanase, one of my real best friends, was wearing a mask of insanity. As a final note, Tomakazu Ohtsoka, one of my other friends, was a perpetrator as well. I thought I could never forgive him. But I was wrong. The death of Tomakazu Ohtsoka was next, falling victim to Setsuna Koizumi. When Hideaki's revelation of being a mole was revealed, Takako Fujioka killed Rikiya Emiya through poison. Miyu Okumura was accidentally killed yet, by Hideaki, who may or may not be alive. And just recently, Taisuke Saionji was murdered by Senji Kiyomasa. Who's alive now? I, Ayako Kawasumi, am still alive, with Kouichi Akazawa, Saya Omoirasha, Rin Nanase, Kyouko Kasuga, Kichiro Suguru, and Suguru Hidaka. That's eight. The body count was mind-blowing to me. Nineteen initial students, and now we're down to eight.

A week has passed since the last trial. I lost track of how long we were stuck in this hellhole. Was it six months maybe? I couldn't remember, and I didn't want to remember. Knowing how long I've been stuck in here would only remind me of other things, and upset me even more.

I checked my watch. It was already lunchtime. Today would be the day. Today would be the day we escaped Hope's Peak Academy. I headed to the cafeteria, strapping on my shoes, and sprinting, letting nothing pass me as I ran. Busting open the cafeteria doors, my friends were waiting for me. Today would be our starting point. The time we had to take Monokuma down.

"It's about time you arrived, Ayako," Saya said. "We need a plan."

"We need a plan," I asked. "But we can't discuss it here."

"We need a way to communicate in secret," Kouichi said. "Monokuma is watching us over the cameras and the microphones hidden in the wall."

"If only Taisuke was able to destroy them all," Suguru sighed. "That would have been so convenient, isn't that right, Roger?"

_Bark!_

"We could always just write down our plan on a slip of paper," I said. "That way, Monokuma wouldn't be able to find out anything about our plan, right?"

"Or we can text it to each other," Kyouko offered.

"I think Monokuma could probably read our texts," Kichiro said. "Ain't a good idea, ya know…"

"T-that's true," Kyouko said. "That sort of stinks."

"But where is Monokuma now?" I asked. "All this talk about overthrowing him surely would get him alert about us. I'm surprised he hasn't run over here yet."

"T-that's true," Kouichi said. "Should we look for him?"

"Why would we look for Monokuma?" Saya asked. "That's like asking for death…"

"He'll just add a new rule about that," Kichiro sighed. "What can ya do though?"

"N-No, this is weird…" I said. "Monokuma should be running over here right now."

"This is good though, isn't it?" Kouichi asked. "This way he can't tell what we're going to do for our plan."

"No, it's not good," Saya said, bringing her hand to her chin. "Monokuma is either planning something; or leaving us to die, or something along that line."

"M-Maybe the police caught the puppetmaster!" Suguru said.

"Nonono!" Rin said, laughing. "The police are chicken scratch, they hadn't done anything!"

"Then what's going on?" Kouichi murmured.

"Maybe we _should_ look for him," I said. "It's not like Monokuma won't find out about our plan."

"That hardly should act as an incentive to _look_ for Monokuma," Saya said. "I'd rather just discuss our plan full out before anything involving Monokuma."

"O-okay, that sounds like a good idea."

"What does?" asked a familiar voice.

Turning around, Monokuma was standing behind us, taking out a pot of honey, and sticking it on his head. The honey seeped down and covered his whole body in that sticky fluid. "You have a good plan about what?" Monokuma asked.

"O-oh, nothing," I said.

"We've got no plan, yo!" Rin screamed. "So get the hell outta here bear!"

"You know, discussing anything will easily be caught on to with my masterful microphones."

"Masterful?"

"Yeah!" Monokuma snapped. "They're fucking expensive!"

"I could easily afford whatever the hell they are," Saya said. "Anyways -"

"Anyways nothing!" Monokuma said. "You guys can't discuss it or I'll know! Final!"

"We know," Kichiro sighed. "So I guess you don't have to worry."

"Guess so," Monokuma swooned. "Bye then!"

Monokuma disappeared within a blink of an eye, and we all stared into each other. There was a deadly silence as we all stared at each other.

"I guess we were wrong," I sighed. "Damn…"

"Monokuma arrived rather late though," Saya said.

"Dance, dance, dance!" Rin exclaimed. "Did he freaking catch on to anything we said? Of course not! Robber baron! Woo!"

"D-do you know what a robber baron is?" Kyouko asked.

"Either way, let's discuss our plan," I said. "I think it should be safe enough to discuss it right now. Monokuma didn't arrive until much, much later."

"I still don't think it's safe," Saya said. "We'd be better off writing to each other with slips of paper."

"We don't have paper with us though," Suguru said. "Should we go somewhere else?"

"No shit," Saya said, and she walked over to the classroom housing building.

"L-let's go," I said, and I looked into the camera. Knowing Monokuma was on the other side of it gave me some frights, but I had been hopeful that we would get out of this place. I took my middle finger, waved it around the camera, and made it perfectly clear to Monokuma that we'd not be beaten.

* * *

We arrived at the classroom quickly, and took small pieces of paper and began to write out our plan. We all crowded around one table to make sure that the camera couldn't get any glimpse of already hard to read writing, and we began.

_Ayako: So, what are we going to do to take over Monokuma?_

_Saya: We already know there's a secret in the AV Room. I have doubts that Monokuma is allowing that area to be freely waltzed into though._

_Suguru: Y-yeah, so we're going to need a new plan, right?_

_Kichiro: We have access to the catacombs, but we can't get into any of the rooms in there that would give us any clear lead…_

_Rin: Lookie! Haha! I drew a smiley face! :=)_

_Kyouko: Oh! That's cute! I'm going to draw a bunny!_

_Rin: Bitch! I can draw better than you! Look at this!_

_Saya: Fucking stop it and listen to the thing.  
_

_Rin: I was going to draw a fuckin' bunny!_

"You don't have to write all that out," I said, and brought my pencil make to the paper.

_Ayako: Anyways, let's actually talk about our plan then. Let's think about all the hints we gathered about this academy and see if we can use it against Monokuma._

_Saya: We know about Senji's title as the Super Highschool Level Despair. What is that all about?_

_Ayako: What is Super Highschool Level Despair, anyways? What is that talent about? Is he like, under depression?_

_Kouichi: That's hardly a talent… _

_Saya: Maybe he's a survivor of depression?_

_Monokuma: Nope, it's not any of that._

"What?!" Kouichi yelped. "What the hell?!"

"What's up?" Monokuma asked as Kouichi's heart skipped a beat.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kouichi demanded. "Secondly, how come you were able to squeeze in here and write?! Suguru was supposed to guard the door with Roger!"

"R-Roger had to take a dump," Suguru said walking into the room. "Don't blame him! Roger's dump is more important than the fact that we need to get out of this place!"

"Holy crap! No it is not!" Kouichi snapped.

"Anyways, that's irrelevant," Saya said. "What I want to know is what this Super Highschool Level Despair is. Senji was this so called despair, so what the hell? Spill the beans, you filthy bear."

"I take offense to that," Monokuma growled. "What the hell are you talking about? Calling me a filthy bear? You know I could probably kill you right now?"

"S-shut up," Saya said. "Just tell us what Super Highschool Level Despair is!"

"I don't know," Monokuma lied. "Why do you want to know? You think it has something to do with me? The puppetmaster?"

"No," I said. "We're just curious."

"Well of course it has nothing to with me!" Monokuma snapped.

"O-okay, but, we're just curious…"

"Huh? You say it has something to do with me?" Monokuma asked. "Well blow me down, you total dumbasses."

"It seems like Super Highschool Level Despair has something to do with Monokuma then," Saya said. "You seem to be rather… defensive. We've stated tons of toms that we're just curious."

"H-huh?" Monokuma asked. "W-well fine! I guess it does!"

"Well, how does it?" Kouichi asked.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Monokuma asked. "I won't tell you, you dumbass."

"Why can't you tell us what Super Highschool Level Despair is?" I asked. "Why can't you tell us anything? Are you that scared of having your identity revealed?"

Monokuma raised his paws over his head, and made a stretching motion. "What are you talking about?" Monokuma asked. "I could give two fucks about whether or not you find out what the Super Highschool Despair is. It's just not the right time for that."

"When is the right time?" Kichiro asked.

"Yaha! Is it EVER?!" Rin asked. "Do I have to fuckin' beat you up or somethin'?!"

"No, no," Monokuma asked. "But do you guys _really_ want to find out about me?"

"Of course we do!" I yelled. "We won't stop until we achieve that goal!"

"Hmm, interesting… Alright, would you like me to propose a wager then?"

"A-A wager?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Hold on, stay right there and don't move," Monokuma said. Monokuma disappeared for a minute, and came back later. "Okay, I suppose the time is right. I'm going to propose a wager right here, and right now, for you bastards to find out more about me, and more about the school! Sounds neat, right?"

"What are the terms?" Kyouko asked. "T-there's obviously going to be some loophole or a secret."

"No loopholes," Monokuma said. "Simple as this; I'm despair. You guys are hope. In our next class trial, you'll try to find out more about my identity. I'll give you all the hints I can give you, and then I'll be on my way to prepare for this "class trial!" If _you_ guys win, however, and then I will reveal my identity, and you guys can kill me yourself! Sounds fun, right?"

"To hell it sounds 'fun,'" Saya said. "But I accept your wager. Ayako?"

I looked at Saya, and looked at everyone else. They were looking at me with deep stares, and wide bright eyes. They were all in it to win it; we were going to defeat Monokuma no matter what.

"Of course," I said. "That's my purpose right now; I'm going to take Monokuma and bring him down!"

"Oh, whatever," Monokuma said. "You guys say things like, no one else is going to die, or, I'm going to kill Monokuma. You know what? It never comes true. So I know in the bottom of my little stuffed heart that you guys will most definitely not win this class trial! I'm going to be the winner over here, you see? Upupupu, are you guys ready to plunge into despair?"

"We're ready to win," Kichiro growled. "Don't count on any of us losing to you!"

"Sure, sure," Monokuma said. "Anyways, you bastards remember when I said that I'd provide you with some help? A hint, so to speak?"

"Y-yeah, I said.

"Your first hint is located at the beach," Monokuma said. "That hint I gave you is just to heat things up, you know? Get you guys pumped! So while you guys are at the beach, I should prepare our class trial, wouldn't you see? Upupupu, this is going to be fun!"

"If you lose, you are ready to be killed, is that right?" Saya asked.

"Of course! A bear never goes back on his word!"

"B-but, why are you letting us do this?" Kouichi asked.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"I mean, didn't you do this coliseum thing to kill all of us?"

"Not all of you," Monokuma replied. "And anyways, it's sorta obvious that you bastards aren't even going to kill anymore. So, I'll leave you all to investigate now."

"Then let's go to the beach," Saya said. We all immediately crusaded out of the room, and walked away from Monokuma. I could see Monokuma waving to us at the back of my head, as if to say, this is the last time I'll ever see you. But no, it wouldn't be. We headed to the beach, fully intent on defeating Monokuma… Intent on taking down despair.

But this would be the most confusing class trial ever.

At the entrance to the beach, I saw a candy wrapper. It was a wrapper to a chocolate bar, and some melted chocolate still remained on the inside of it. As I walked closer and closer to the shore, someone was sitting on the sand. Chocolate bar in one hand, eyepatch on one of his eyes, and a burn mark on the back of his neck.

"I-is that, who I think it is?!" Saya asked. "I-is that possible?"

"Oh my God," Kichiro said.

My feet carried me by themselves. My sneakers shuffled in the sand, as I progressed closer, and closer. Walking… then running… then sprinting, my hands wrapped around this boy. This boy with blond hair. This boy with just as much intent as we do to bring Monokuma down. The waves crashed as I squeezed the daylights out of him, so glad he's back. So glad he's alive.

"I missed you," I said. "But I knew you wouldn't die."

Hideaki looked down at me, and gave me a tiny smile.

_**Continued in Chapter 7: Investigation**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#22:

Monokuma: Is this the end of our journey to despair?

Monokuma: The final "chapter" we'd encounter before I am taken down?

Monokuma: Who did you want to live?

Monokuma: Who did you want to die?

Monokuma: Will our heroes live through this catastrophe of despair?

Monokuma: Upupupu, I'm just as intent as making you despair as much as our little friends in my coliseum.

?: But don't worry. My identity will be revealed soon.

?: Yes… my identity. A despairingly magnificent identity.


	24. Chapter 7: Investigation

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it took longer than normal to update. I worked hard to write this chapter as soon as possible, so because of that, it does seemed rushed it parts, but I hope you like it either way. **

* * *

My feet carried me by themselves. My sneakers shuffled in the sand, as I progressed closer, and closer. Walking… then running… then sprinting, my hands wrapped around this boy. This boy with blond hair. This boy with just as much intent as we do to bring Monokuma down. The waves crashed as I squeezed the daylights out of him, so glad he's back. So glad he's alive.

"I missed you," I said. "But I knew you wouldn't die."

Hideaki looked down at me, and gave me a tiny smile.

"Ayako…"

* * *

Monokuma: Yo, yo, yo! It's the Monokuma Recap Board!

Monokuma: These bitches think they can overthrow me!

Monokuma: But can they find out the secrets?

Monokuma: Upupupu, I'm eager to watch all of them try to beat me!

Monokuma: Oh, and by the way, Hideaki's back.

* * *

The two of us turned to face each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and buried my face in his chest. Returning the gesture, he wrapped his arms around me, and we were suspended there, holding each other. The window of time where we were away from each other was pure hell. That's why I didn't want to let go. But unsurprisingly, it was Hideaki himself who brought me back to reality.

"Ayako," he said, "I think it's probably best that we start our investigation."

"R-right," I said. We unwrapped, and faced the others, with shocked faces and wide open mouths. Staring at each other, there was a feeling of discomfort, but yet at the same time, a reassurance.

"H-how did you survive?!" Kyouko asked. "We saw you go into that fire!"

"Disappointed?" Hideaki asked, returning to his usual personality. "I'm ever so sorry about that."

"N-no," Kyouko said. "Just shocked."

Everyone crowded around Hideaki. They all wanted to welcome him back. But Saya had to dampen the mood, and she stayed behind, leaning against a tree, waiting for all of us to finish our reunion.

"I would be careful around him," Saya told us. "Monokuma should have killed him. Unless he was perhaps allied with the puppetmaster."

"I object!" Monokuma said, appearing out of nowhere. "Did I not say back there, that Hideaki would be your first big hint?

"A hint?" I asked. "What about?"

"You figure that out," Monokuma said. "Of course, you all will during the investigation, huh?"

"And we'll take you down," Hideaki said. "See you tonight."

"So typical of you, Hideaki," Monokuma replied. "Always the one to rush people! Oh well, see you tonight!" With that, Monokuma disappeared.

"Hideaki is a hint, huh?" Saya asked. "That can only mean he's a dangerous person to hang around with."

"Say what you want," Hideaki sighed. "I'm still on your side."

"We'll decide that in the trial," Saya said. "Right now, I'm off to investigate." With that, Saya headed off to do her own thing.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

1: Hideaki: Monokuma claims that Hideaki himself is a "hint."

I loaded Monokuma's words into the evidence page in my phone, and looked at Hideaki.

"Where were you?" I asked. "W-when you escaped your execution I mean."

"Where was I?" Hideaki asked. "Should I remember that?"

"Uh, yeah," I said. "You probably should.

"If you want me to be honest, I remember exiting the school. I went somewhere, but then I came back here. I don't know why. I don't remember anything – entering this school, I fainted again like when I first came here."

"You fainted again? Like on our first day?"

Hideaki nodded.

"It's nothing to worry about though," Hideaki said. "I'm here, so I'll help you take out Monokuma."

"Right," I said. "Let's do it."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

2: Hideaki's Exit and Entrance: Hideaki left the school after escaping his execution, and came back to the school later. He doesn't remember why, and he fainted like he did when entering the school.

"Anyways, what are good places to investigate?" I asked.

"The catacombs, most definitely," Hideaki said. "Anywhere else other than that might not have any significance."

"Anything to do down there though?" Kichiro asked. "I mean, Monokuma locked all the doors so there isn't anything to explore."

"Only thing to do is to walk down there and see," I said.

"I-I'm a little nervous," Suguru said. "Roger is too."

_BARK!_

"We aren't going to be able to escape if we don't try," Hideaki said.

"H-he's right!" Kouichi said. "Y-yeah!"

"Alright," I said. "So we have to go to the catacombs, huh?"

"It appears so," Hideaki said, and Hideaki headed for the cafeteria.

* * *

_**Location: The Catacombs | Time: 9:02 AM | Chapter Seven**_

"We're here," Hideaki said, opening the doorway into the catacombs. Everything looked the same; nothing looked misplaced. It seemed like Monokuma was playing fair game.

"Nothing looks out of place," I said. "Monokuma didn't change anything, did he?"

"Of course I didn't!" Monokuma said, popping up behind me. "I'm a fair bear!"

"Eep! Stop that!" Kouichi snapped.

"Seriously though, to be even fair, I've gone through the trouble to unlock all previously locked rooms down here."

"R-really?!" Suguru exclaimed. "T-then let's go!"

_Bark!_

"All the doors are unlocked?" Hideaki asked.

"Of course," Monokuma said. "I'm a bear of my word; for the last freaking time!"

"You don't say," Hideaki said. "You aren't going to make any changes to that? Such as lock any doors?"

"I don't guarantee that," Monokuma said. "You're supposed to investigate, not have everything spoiled right in front of you – I mean, where is the fun in that?"

"Spoilers would be nice," Kouichi said. "I-I don't really mind."

"I do!" Monokuma said. "This is supposed to be fun for _ME! _Now, have fun investigating you guys!" Monokuma left within a snap of our fingers, and we were left to investigate the catacombs underground.

* * *

_**Location: Sub-Zero Fridge | Time: 9:14 AM | Chapter Seven**_

"This was locked before, wasn't it?" I asked Hideaki, as we walked up to the fridge that was before previously not accessible. Hideaki nodded, and entered the room. The fridge itself was shut off, probably by Monokuma to make sure we don't die from freezing to death or something. "Hideaki?" I asked. "Can we come in?"

"I-I wouldn't," Hideaki said. "I don't think this sight would be good for you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Something happened here," Hideaki said.

"Uh, what happened?" Kouichi asked. "Like a fire?"

"No, it's worse than that."

"Uh, I don't know if I really want to know," Suguru said.

"I do!" Rin chuckled, as she ran into the fridge, clapping her hands above her head.

"_I don't think this sight would be good for you."_

What did he mean by that?

Walking into the fridge, Hideaki was right. The view around this fridge was terribly haunting. The walls were stained with blood, and meat hooks were hung around the room. Bodies were stuck onto the hooks, and the bodies had already decayed. Thirteen bodies hung around the room, and the room was an absolute morgue. Kouichi ran out of the room to vomit, and the rest of us were left to gaze at the walls. There were thirteen bodies… Thirteen…

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

3: Sub-Zero Fridge: The fridge has thirteen bodies lined up across the wall, stuck on meat hooks. The room was covered in blood.

"W-what is this?!" I shrieked.

"Thirteen bodies," Hideaki said. "That's how much people were killed during our time at Hope's Peak Academy, isn't it?"

"W-what are you sayin?" Kichiro stammered. "You thinking these guys are our friends who were killed?!"

"It seems like it," Hideaki said, sighing. "It's quite a shocking sight, isn't it?"

"It's more than shocking," Suguru said. "It's revolting!" Even Roger was hiding behind Suguru's legs, shielding himself from this awful view.

Regaining my composure, I decided to look around the room a little more while everyone watched me investigate. The blood was dried, meaning that no one was killed here recently. I also looked at the bodies. They seemed to match the figures of our friends, but all the bodies were decayed, and therefore, I could identify any of them.

"Why would the puppetmaster but decayed bodies in a fridge?" Hideaki asked. "It doesn't make much sense when you think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Putting dead bodies in a cold environment like them should be used to _preserve_ them, not to let them rot and decay. I'm thinking that the fridge was probably shut off for a while, don't you?"

"I-I guess so," I said. "But I didn't know about preserving bodies and other stuff like that."

"Girl! That's elementary!" Rin said, walking up behind us. "Everyone knows about preserving bodies and shit! Helloooo! Captain Obvious!"

"Anyways, thinking about it like that, you're probably right," I said to Hideaki, ignoring Rin. That was an important fact for sure that would come up during the trial.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

4: Fridge Properties: The bodies inside the fridge are decayed, but fridges like these would preserve bodies instead of letting them rot. The blood is also dried, meaning no one was killed inside here.

"I think that's all we'll find here," Hideaki said. "Let's head back to the control room."

I nodded. The control room was nearby the fridge. It definitely seemed interesting.

* * *

_**Location: Control Room | Time: 9:22 AM | Chapter Seven**_

I opened the door to the control room, and was met with an icy blast of air. The air conditioner seemed to be on full blast, and the room was painted with portraits of Monokuma. There were TV panels lined up against the wall, and they each showed footage of the school.

"T-they used these to spy on us!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"That sucks," Rin said. "I did something _nasty!_ Monokuma must've caught onto that!"

"Moving on," I said, as I investigated the TV screens carefully. They each were showing activity outside of the catacombs and around the school. The park gazebo, the cafeteria, our dorm rooms; it was all playing right in front of our eyes. Inside the room, there was also a door painted with a picture of Monokuma on it.

"Monokuma said all the doors were unlocked, right?" Suguru asked.

"It should be," I said.

"Are we checking it out?" Kouichi asked nervously.

"I want to!" Rin exclaimed. "It seems fucking DANGEROUS!"

"Are you serious?" Kyouko asked. "You're too insane! We can't just waltz in there!"

"Monokuma said all doors were unlocked for free access," Hideaki said. "We can't _not _see what's behind this door."

"F-fine," Kyouko said. "But you go first!" Kyouko pointed at Kichiro, who held his hands up in response.

"Why me?" he asked.

"You're the manliest here!" Kyouko claimed. "You have that delinquent look!"

"Yeah, but I'm a mathematician!"

"I'll go," Hideaki sighed, and he swiftly opened the door and walked in. I followed after him, and Rin was close behind me. Everyone else decided to stay behind, which was understandable. Either way, I needed to make note of the security cameras.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

5: Security Cameras: Watched over us inside the control room.

"How spooky!" Rin said, with a giddy attitude.

How spooky was right.

* * *

_**Location: ? | Time: 9:31 AM | Chapter Seven**_

We arrived at the end of a short hallway, and encountered another door. Opening it, there was a hatch on the floor, and a large machine at the back of the room. Rin ran over to it, and began to pound all the buttons, and soon after, we heard screams coming from the control room… then in the hallway.

"Get him off of me!" Kouichi yelped. Monokuma was on top of his head, clawing at him with his paws.

"H-he's still just a stuffed animal," I said.

Rin began to laugh, and she spoke into the microphone that was built onto the machine.

"Yo, Kouichi!"

Monokuma responded with a, yo, Kouichi, and Kouichi ran towards Rin, with Monokuma still clawing at his head.

"Stop that! I know you're controlling him!" Rin held her hands up, and took them off of the machine. Monokuma stopped moving, and Kouichi yanked Monokuma off of his head.

"Jesus," Kouichi said. "You're mean, Rin!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Rin said. "Looks like this thing controls Monokuma though! That's cool, huh?!"

"It's an important piece of information," Hideaki responded. "I'm not sure I'd call it cool, though."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

6: Monokuma Controller: A machine in the back of an unknown controls Monokuma.

Is that it?

Is this all we could find? We needed to find more about the Puppetmaster's identity.

But what was _this?_

"Hideaki," I said. "Isn't there any clue about the _actual _identity of the puppetmaster?"

"This is good though, isn't it?" Kouichi asked, overhearing us.

"We know how the puppetmaster is doing this, but we don't have any leads on who the puppetmaster actually is," I said. "This is beginning to not look so good for us."

"We still have the AV Room to check," Hideaki replied. "If we go there, we might be able to find out some things."

"Oh yeah, in that note you said something important was down there."

"I have no doubts that it was probably removed," grouched Hideaki. "But, if it wasn't, then that's good for us, isn't it?"

"Monokuma said he didn't interfere with anything," Suguru said. "Roger heard him too!"

_Bark!_

"We can never be 100% sure about that," Hideaki sighed.

"Right, because he's Monokuma," Kichiro said. "Let's go to the AV Room and pound a few heads!"

"S-sure," Kyouko said.

"We should go," Hideaki said. I nodded, and we headed back into the hallway and back out of the catacombs. The AV Room was a short walk away, and this had to be our savior. Whatever Hideaki mentioned in his note had to be in the AV Room. Otherwise, we'll never be able to find out anything about the puppetmaster's identity.

And we'll all be executed.

* * *

_**Location: The AV Room | Time: 9:52 AM | Chapter Seven**_

"We're here," I said, as we walked in front of the entrance to the AV Room. "This is it." I placed my hand on the cold metal doorknob, and twisted it. Slowly, and slowly, as a blast of cold air bit my face. Opening the room, I noticed that the murder of Taisuke had already been cleaned up by Monokuma. It was already gone.

"It looks like nothing ever happened in here," Kouichi said. "Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Well, this proves that the puppetmaster was in here at least once," Hideaki said. "That probably doesn't say much at all though."

Exploring the room, I checked out the TVs, the computers, but there was nothing to suggest that the puppetmaster was here.

"Where is this special evidence that you mentioned in the note?" I asked to Hideaki. Hideaki looked around, and pointed at a supply closet in the back of the room.

"If it's still here, it has to be in there," Hideaki replied. He pulled open the door, and to my surprise, I noticed a box of pictures on the floor. Walking over to it, I took one out, and found pictures of my family. I found pictures of Hideaki and his family with Rin. These pictures were all hopeful ones, ones showing the people that we'd go back to if we ever escaped this hell.

Shuffling through the pictures some more, eyes watering a little bit, I found something strange. It was a DVD labeled: "Top Secret; Desparification Project."

"What the hell is this?" I asked.

"It looks like Monokuma didn't clean it up," Hideaki said. "In that DvD, should be the answers to all our problems."

"But it won't be!" Monokuma said, appearing from behind us.

"Welcome," Hideaki said. "I presume you want this DvD?"

"Hell, yeah!" Monokuma screeched. "That's like a total spoiler! That's unfair territory! You can't just waltz in here and grab it!"

"We just did that," I said. The others began to walk over, hearing Monokuma's voice.

"Yeah, well, screw you!" Monokuma said. "Give me that DvD before I punish someone!"

"Punish?"

"An execution! An execution! I want that DvD, or execution!"

Execution? For a DvD? So Hideaki was right. There probably was something important in there.

"No," I said.

"Yes!" he fought back.

"Yes," Hideaki said.

"What?!"

"We can't afford a punishment," Hideaki said. "We shouldn't play games with Monokuma."

"B-but, Hideaki –"

"Please?" Hideaki asked. "I don't want to see anyone else die."

I sighed, and nodded, as Monokuma skipped away with the DvD, laughing at our misfortune.

"That sucks," Suguru said, listening in on our conversation.

"We still have these photos," I said. "But I can't imagine how they'll help us at all."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

7: Photos: There were photos found in the box in the AV Room supply closet. They had pictures of everyone's families.

8: DvD: A DvD labeled: "Top Secret: Despairifcation Project," was found in the box in the AV Room supply closet. Monokuma arrived and took it from us.

"How did he get those photos though?" I asked.

"That's a mystery," Hideaki said.

"It stinks that Monokuma took those DvDs though," Kichiro said.

"Anyways, we should get back to the surface," Hideaki said. "We looked at everything that we could under here."

"In the end, we didn't find anything about the puppetmaster, did we?" Suguru asked.

_Bark!_

"We should find Saya," I said. "She went off to investigate somewhere else. Maybe she found out something."

"Where is she?" Hideaki asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Want to split up when we get to the surface?"

"W-what if someone dies then?!" Kouichi stammered.

"No one would want to kill anyone anymore," I said. "There's absolutely no point in that."

"That's true," Kouichi said. "But I'm still worried."

"I'll come with you," Hideaki said. "Problem solved."

"Kichiro, c-can you come with me?" Kyouko asked. Kichiro nodded, and the two of them paired up.

"Guess I'm following you!" Suguru exclaimed, and she brought Roger to her shoulders and wrapped him around her like a scarf. "Let's go, Roger!"

_Bark!_

"Alright, off to find Saya."

* * *

_**Location: Log Cabins | Time: 10:01 AM | Chapter Seven**_

Our search for Saya led us all the way across the school. First the dormitories, then the sports areas, and finally, Suguru and I decided to check out the log cabins at the lake. Of course, when we got there, we were relatively surprised to find Saya swimming in and out of the lake.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled out to her. Saya, wearing her bathing suit, was bringing up the boxes from the bottom of the lake. Saya brought up one last box, and walked towards us, draping a towel around her.

"I got these boxes from the bottom of the lake," Saya said. "Remember them?"

"Of course I do," I said. These were the boxes that killed Miyu. A terrible memory.

"Well, I suspect something is inside them," Saya said.

"What's inside them?" Suguru asked.

"I'm not sure," Saya said. "I haven't opened any of these boxes yet."

"I suppose it's time to find out," Saya said, who took the lid off of one of the boxes. Inside, were dry blood, and the heads and body parts of all our deceased friends.

"W-what is this?!" Saya yelped, dropping the box immediately.

"T-that's!"

In the box we had just opened, Akira's head was clearly showing. It was just a head. In another one, there were legs, arms, and chests.

"T-the puppetmaster's insane!" Suguru screamed. "I-I can't take –"

Suguru fainted in shock, and Saya rushed to her side.

"I'll take her to the infirmary," Saya said. "Do what you want with these boxes."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

9: Boxes: In the boxes that we had previously thrown into the lake, are parts of our deceased friends.

"That's awful," I said. I didn't want to shuffle through the boxes, but I knew I had to. It wasn't right for me to let these body parts stay under the lake. I decided I'd cremate them; whether or not they wanted it or not, it was a better fate than having it stuck in the bottom of the lake.

* * *

_**Location: Incinerator | Time: 10:49 AM | Chapter Seven**_

I clasped my hands together, and prayed for all of our fallen friends. As I turned the incinerator on, the fire was blazing and warmed up the room. I took one of the boxes, and dumped the contents of it inside the fire. As the bodies turned to ash, I imagined trapped souls being freed from their chains.

This was my final goodbye to my friends.

Goodbye Akira… Aaron… Megumi… Noburu… Tomakazu… Setsuna… Rikiya… Takako… That was everyone who I could tell was in these boxes. Post-mortem, there was Miyu, Taisuke, and Senji, and I couldn't not say goodbye to them too.

Despite what I thought about everyone before, they were all my friends at one point.

I waved as the final body part burned away in the incinerator.

Yet, something interesting fell out of a box and onto the floor. Kneeling down to sneak a peek, I held by hand to my mouth.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

10: Eyepatch: An eyepatch was found in this box?

"Why is there an eyepatch?" I asked to myself. "Who's the only person who wears an eyepatch right now?"

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Are you all ready? It seems like you are. But whether or not you're prepared for the __**final class trial**__ isn't up to me, and I don't care either way. Because my goal is __**despair!**__ Upupupu! See you there, you bastards!"_

The final class trial? Already?

"That eyepatch," said someone from behind me. "Who does it belong to?" I turned around to see Saya standing behind me, her face grim.

"I, I don't know," I admitted. "B-but…"

"C'mon," Saya said. "We're going to _his _room."

"Whose?"

"Hideaki's," Saya said.

"W-what? But Monokuma –"

"It'll take like five minutes," Saya responded.

"Why are we even checking out his room?!"

"There's only one person who wears an eyepatch," Saya said. "The boxes were made _after_ Hideaki's eye was gouged out. I want to make sure. So you're coming."

"N-n-no," I said. "I can't!"

"Well, I'm going whether or not you are. But you are going to need to face the truth – whatever it is."

"Are you saying Hideaki is the puppetmaster?!"

"No. I'm only seeing it as a possibility. So I'm going to investigate. I'm saying if Hideaki is the puppetmaster, you cannot plunge yourself into denial."

"You never liked him!" I screamed. "Don't insult him like that!"

"I have to hurry," Saya said, cutting me off. "I ask that you _at least _stall Monokuma if you're not coming."

"No, I'm coming," I said. "I'm coming to prove you wrong. This eyepatch was a coincidence. I'll show you."

"Whatever," Saya said. "We'd better hurry then."

Saya sprinted out of the room, and I followed after her. Saya had to be wrong. If she wasn't, I'd be crushed.

* * *

_**Location: Hideaki's Dorm Room | Time: 11:02 AM | Chapter Seven**_

Saya opened the door to Hideaki's room, quickly, and easily.

"It's unlocked," I said. "That's strange."

Saya shuffled around in Hideaki's room, opening drawers, checking under beds, and she brought to me three items.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Incriminating pieces of evidence," Saya said. "Look at it."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

11: Wooden Plank: A wooden plank with blood on it.

"What does this prove?" I asked.

"One of the boxes was missing a plank," Saya said. "It was found in his room, and there was dry blood on it."

"S-so?"

"Take a look at this," Saya said.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

12: Box of Spares: Spare eyepatches found in a box.

"This explains how Hideaki would have been able to keep an eyepatch," Saya said.

"What is your point?" I asked. "All these things… they prove nothing!"

"And here you go," Saya said.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

13: Note: A note that says: "Hide the Despairification Project! Show it to no one!"

"A despairification project?" I asked. "T-the DvD –"

"I don't know anything about a DvD," Saya said. "But this is more than incriminating, wouldn't you agree?"

"N-no," I muttered. "No!"

"I don't want to upset you," Saya said. "In fact, I see you as a friend. So when we go to the trial, I'll give you a chance to pinpoint someone else as the puppetmaster. But if not, I'm going to have to present these pieces of evidence."

"W-what?"

"You have a limited amount of time before I incriminate Hideaki," Saya said. "For now, we need to head to the gazebo."

I had a limited amount of time to incriminate someone else?

But how could I?

There was no one else.

There was only Hideaki.

Would I fail?

Would I succeed?

Is Hideaki really the puppetmaster?

These thoughts were running through my head. But I knew at the bottom of my heart that Hideaki wasn't the puppetmaster. He wasn't. He couldn't be.

* * *

_**Location: The Gazebo | Time: 11:30 AM | Chapter Seven**_

"Where the hell were you two?!" Monokuma demanded. "I was about to come and shoot you all over here!"

"S-shoot?" I asked.

"No time to waste," Monokuma said. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Wait," I said. "Let me talk to Hideaki for a second."

Hideaki pointed at himself, and stared at Monokuma. Monokuma was slightly unresponsive, but Monokuma finally nodded.

"Fine," he said. "I want all of you to be on your best behavior though."

"What is this about?" Hideaki asked. "We need to start the trial, don't we?"

"Hideaki, tell me everything," I said. "I need to know where you went after the trial. I need to know what you think about all of _this._ I need to know your role in all of this!"

"M-my role?"

"Are you the puppetmaster?"

"Am I what?"

"The puppetmaster!" I snapped.

"What is this about suddenly?" Hideaki asked. "Do you suspect me?"

"N-no, of course not," I said. "But Saya does. I want to know the truth. I don't want to walk in and make a blind mistake."

Hideaki was silent, and after a while, he spoke up. "Of course I'm not. Trust me." I had to read Hideaki's face right now. Was he lying to me? Was he telling the truth?

"About time we broke this up!" Monokuma said, walking us over to the gazebo. I continued to look at Hideaki, who wouldn't even take a glance upon me. Was he being defensive? Was he acting normal?

Was he the puppetmaster?

"Welcome to the final courtroom!" Monokuma said, leading us into a courtroom. The courtroom was themed to be like a prison. Steel plates on the walls, painted gray, and television monitors. "Fitting, isn't it? It's just the perfect environment for a final boss, don't you all think?"

"Alright! Let's do this!" Kichiro exclaimed.

We all piled into the courtroom. Monokuma took a seat in one of the seats, and opened his mouth… ready to speak.

This was the final class trial.

To live, or to die.

_**Continued in Chapter 7: Class Trial**_


	25. Chapter 7: Class Trial

Monokuma: Is this it? Is this really the last trial?

Monokuma: It's been such a long journey, huh? I'm just _oozing_ with excitement!

Monokuma: The trial to seek out who the puppetmaster really is!

Monokuma: Who am I?

Monokuma: What am I doing?

Monokuma: What is my objective?

Monokuma: Let's let it shine in **our final class trial!**

* * *

Monokuma: Welcome guys, to your **seventh** class trial. Because this is a trial to find out my identity, I changed the rule a little bit.

Monokuma: You guys, will be known as **Team Hope.** Me? Well, I'm **Team Despair.** Similar to regular class trials…

Monokuma: If you guys **lose** the class trial, then **you all will be punished!**

Monokuma: And I win!

Hideaki: And if you lose, you'll execute yourself?

Monokuma: Sure thing! Why, I'm giddy with excitement!

Monokuma: In addition, because I am being put on trial as well here, I would like to participate as well!

Suguru: Y-you're participating?!

Monokuma: Don't worry. I didn't tip the scales in any way.

Hideaki: Alright, then let us begin our final class trial.

Kichiro: We should talk about the evidence that we gathered so far.

Kyouko: If we can come up with something…

Rin: …surefire thing that the puppetmaster will reveal himself! Neeheehee!

Saya: …

Ayako: _Saya is being silent, like she said._

Ayako: _If I want to prove Hideaki innocent… I'm going to have to make this count!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Suguru: Let's think about what we found so far.

Rin: We have the UGLY ASS freezer in the catacombs!

Kichiro: That was probably used to **store the dead bodies of our friends.**

Kouichi: Then there was the control room...

Kouichi: …and the room where Monokuma was being controlled too.

Hideaki: Finally, there was the AV Room. More specifically, the **supply closet with pictures.**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Sub-Zero Fridge_]

Ayako: You've got that wrong!

Ayako: Is it really the case that the freezer was used to store the dead bodies of our friends?

Kichiro: Yeah? You think it wasn't?

Hideaki: I don't think so either.

Kichiro: H-huh?

Hideaki: There are thirteen bodies in that freezer.

Hideaki: But think about who we lost.

Kichiro: W-well, let's see here.

Kichiro: There was Akira, Aaron, Megumi, Noburu, Tomakazu, Setsuna, Rikiya, Takako, Miyu, Taisuke, and Senji.

Kichiro: W-wait, that's only eleven bodies!

Rin: And let's see who's **alive!** It's me, Ayako, Hideaki, Suguru, YOU, Kouichi, Kyouko, and Saya!

Hideaki: That equals nineteen, the total number of people who have attended this academy.

Kichiro: S-so, then that means…

Hideaki: Correct.

Hideaki: The people in that fridge are **complete strangers to us.**

Saya: I-I see…

Kichiro: O-oh… That's sort of disgusting, yo.

Kichiro: It's freakin' disgusting!

Kouichi: Strangers? Y-you mean, more people died here?!

Monokuma: Now, now! I know you all want to discuss my beautiful fridge…

Monokuma: But don't forget, this trial is to pinpoint the identity of the **puppetmaster.**

Monokuma: Forget all your silly troubles about what happened before you all came here.

Monokuma: This trial is about me, me, and only me! You got that?

Hideaki: Fair enough. The truth will come out anyways.

Monokuma: Now, shall we get back on topic?

Monokuma: Is there something else you all would like to talk about?

Ayako: _Something else we all would like to talk about?_

Ayako: _There has to be something… otherwise…_

Saya: …

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Monokuma: Let's see, let's see! Anything else you'd like to talk about?

Monokuma: Are you guys **stuck? Want to die yet?**

Hideaki: We still have something that we need to discuss.

Hideaki: First, we should wrap up our discussion about that fridge…

Monokuma: Fine, fine. Let's see…

Monokuma: **Was it the bodies of your dead friends?**

Monokuma: **Was it the bodies of complete strangers?**

Monokuma: Let's see you answer that yourself, and roll with that.

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_pieces of ammo used: Boxes_]

Ayako: It couldn't have been the bodies of our dead friends.

Suguru: O-oh, right! Er, less enthusiastically.

Ayako: A-anyways…

Ayako: When Suguru and I were investigating the lake, Saya was there as well.

Saya: I was retrieving the boxes that we had disposed of earlier when Miyu was killed.

Saya: But I didn't get to see what was in the boxes.

Ayako: Inside the boxes, was, um… something really gross.

Rin: Eh?! I can dig with that!

Suguru: W-well, the bodies of our dead friends had been cut up, and put inside those boxes.

Kouichi: What?!

Kouichi: S-so, what does that mean?

Monokuma: It means that we couldn't really afford to store the bodies!

Rin: Wow! You built fucking courts and you can't afford a fridge?! You are SOO full of crap!

Monokuma: Yeah, we could have wasted some income on preserving those bodies, but what good would that do?

Saya: But that freezer was filled with bodies.

Monokuma: Well, yeah! But –

Hideaki: I'm afraid that isn't the issue right now, Saya.

Saya: Pray tell me, what is it, Hideaki?

Hideaki: I doubt that the freezer will contain any hint about the puppetmaster at this time.

Rin: But what if it has some dirty magazines?! What if Mr. Puppetmaster is a pedophile?!

Hideaki: If we keep dwelling on this topic, then we'll get even more confused.

Ayako: Y-yeah… Hideaki's right.

Ayako: _Why? Why am I feeling doubt now?_

Ayako: _I trust Hideaki, don't I? I trust him for sure._

Saya: Very well. Let us move on to a different subject then.

Kichiro: The most obvious lead we have right now has to be the control room.

Kyouko: Wonder what it does.

Hideaki: It's obvious that Monokuma was using that to spy on us, no?

Monokuma: Bingo!

Monokuma: But really! "Spy," is such a harsh word!

Monokuma: Why not say, "observe?" Or, "protect?"

Kyouko: There's no way in hell that you're protecting us!

Saya: Perhaps there is a secret in there that we may have overlooked.

Monokuma: A secret? In the control room?

Monokuma: You mean the control room with the videos, or where I control this furry creature? A.K.A., me.

Saya: Obviously one or the other.

Monokuma: Hmm, okay, maybe there _is_ a teeny tiny secret.

Monokuma: Like, did you guys ever consider this?

Suguru: C-consider what, exactly?

Roger: Bark!

Monokuma: Well, let's think. You guys were inside that control room for a pretty long time, wouldn't you say?

Rin: Yeah! It was COLD in there! FUCKIN' A IT'S LIKE SUMMER OUTSIDE NOW!

Monokuma: Well, it's just a little strange, isn't it? Shouldn't you have been able to find me, then?

Saya: Y-yes… That would be the case.

Saya: For some reason though, you were not present in the room.

Monokuma: Is _that_ the case? Or is it something else?

Ayako: What do you mean?

Monokuma: You can't just assume that I _wasn't_ in the room! That's boring!

Monokuma: Instead, how did I manage to avoid your glances towards my beauty?

Ayako: _How Monokuma avoided contact with us?_

Ayako: _Let's see… Let me think about the layout of the room one more time._

Ayako: _I remember entering the control room with the cameras, there wasn't any place that anyone could hide. It was all open._

Ayako: _T-then again, in the room where Monokuma was being controlled…_

Ayako: _It's on the tip of my tongue._

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**HATCH**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: That's right… There was a hatch in the room, wasn't there?

Hideaki: There was a hatch?

Monokuma: Ding, dong! You are 100% correct, Ayako! The real me, was hiding in the room the whole time!

Kouichi: W-w-w-w-w-w-w…

Kouichi: WHAAAAAAAAT?!

Monokuma: Yeah, don't act so surprised. I was like, right under your feet, hiding in a little hatch I made.

Monokuma: It was actually sort of scary! If you guys were to open that hatch…

Monokuma: …you would have seen me in the very flesh that my real self has!

Ayako: T-tch!

Saya: It appears we missed the opportunity.

Hideaki: We have no choice but to go on another topic then, don't we?

Ayako: …

Ayako: …

Ayako: _W-what?_

Ayako: _What am I feeling right now?_

Ayako: _I'm looking straight at Hideaki… yet, I'm afraid._

Ayako: _What am I afraid of right now?_

Ayako: _Am I afraid I won't be able to find the true puppetmaster?_

Hideaki: Ayako?

Ayako: H-huh?

Hideaki: Are you okay?

Ayako: W-what?

Hideaki: We're about to switch the subject.

Ayako: O-Oh right, yeah, I know.

Saya: Let's see… we already established how Monokuma was in the room, and what he does in the room.

Saya: What else can we talk about?

Rin: Can we talk about the Puppetmaster's porn career?

Suguru: The Puppetmaster is not involved with anything pervert related!

Hideaki: We can discuss the AV Room.

Saya: The AV Room?

Hideaki: Inside the AV Room was a box, filled with pictures of our families, and a DVD that said something along the lines of a "despairification project."

Saya: What is a despairification project?...

Monokuma: Woah, woah, woah!

Monokuma: Hold the phone! Saddle your horses!

Kyouko: I-I don't think "saddle" is the right word.

Monokuma: This despairification project is completely off-topic!

Monokuma: Talk about something else! Or face the wrath of my evil claw!

Suguru: W-well, it looks like that the despairification project is sort of important, huh?

Monokuma: Eh? Liar! Pants on fire!

Hideaki: Should we discuss it then? It may lead to the puppetmaster's **true** identity.

Saya: The true identity, huh?

Ayako: _Saya, I can hear the doubt in your words. Yet, I can also hear it in mine._

Ayako: _But Hideaki is not the puppetmaster. You can count on that._

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Saya: So, you say that the AV Room contains important **evidence?**

Hideaki: Correct. There are pictures of our **family** and that **DVD** that Monokuma was getting defensive over.

Suguru: But what should we talk about them?

Kouichi: We know what's on the pictures.

Kouichi: It's the DVD I'm curious about, but Monokuma definitely won't let us see that.

Monokuma: Correct! Lips are sealed!

Kyouko: O-okay, so, uh, the pictures… No, the DVD!

Suguru: Ah, we're stuck, aren't we? **How** are we going to discuss anything?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: the phrase, "How."_]

Ayako: S-Suguru, I did get an idea from what you said.

Suguru: Me?

Ayako: We can't talk about how the pictures relate to the puppetmaster yet, because we honestly don't know anything yet.

Ayako: But maybe we can discuss the method of how the pictures were created.

Suguru: The method?

Ayako: Obviously Monokuma had to get those pictures somehow.

Ayako: I want to know how.

Saya: Agreed… it would be rather interesting to know how that happened.

Monokuma: Huh?

Monokuma: You think it'll be "interesting?"

Monokuma: No, no! You've got it all wrong!

Monokuma: Are we not talking about my **identity?** Why are we discussing these pictures?

Rin: Right! There's no nudity in them!

Suguru: What the hell is wrong with you?

Hideaki: One way or another, discussing these pictures can ultimately lead to your identity, can it not?

Monokuma: My identity?

Monokuma: Nope! Nope!

Monokuma: Lies! Lies! Two times of lies! Lies! Lies! Three times of lies!

Ayako: What are you saying?...

Monokuma: Those pictures are not at all related to my identity! There's nothing to say that it is!

Monokuma: We need to stop getting off topic over here!

Ayako: _He keeps denying the truth._

Ayako: _So I'll shove it in his face._

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

Monokuma: Rawr! Rawr!

Monokuma: Mono! Kuuuummmaaaa!

Monokuma: Not interesting!

Monokuma: Xanadu!

Monokuma: Faxanadu!

Monokuma: Off-topic!

Monokuma: Do you want to be punished?

Monokuma: Ha! Ha! Ha, ha, ha!

Monokuma: Lieslieslieslieslieslieslies!

Monokuma: Bakakakakaka!

Monokuma: **Prove it! Prove that the pictures aren't off-topic!**

_Piece of ammo used: DVD_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: It's clear… if we take a look at that DVD… is it possible that your identity will be revealed, Monokuma?

Monokuma: Huh? You think the answer is in the DVD? Really?

Monokuma: Wow! Like, dumbass!

Kichiro: T-then if it's not important, why don'tcha just show it to us?

Monokuma: You want to see the DVD?

Kouichi: Of course we do! I-I mean, we don't want to be punished.

Hideaki: If Monokuma is not showing us the DVD, that's because there's something on there he doesn't want us to see.

Hideaki: It might not be about his identity at all.

Monokuma: You hit the nail on the head, Hideaki!

Monokuma: I'll admit this! This is on my fair bear's honor!

Monokuma: There's nothing on that DVD that could possibly suggest that my identity is blankity blank blank!

Monokuma: However, there is something **discussed** on that DVD.

Monokuma: Whatever this discussion is about, I intend to show it to you as soon as possible!

Monokuma: Sadly though, it's not time for that yet! I can't show the DVD to you, because like I said a gazillion times before, **spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!**

Kyouko: W-what do you mean by spoiler alert?!

Suguru: A-are you saying you won't show that to us now, but later?! Why the hell is that?

Roger: Bark!

Monokuma: You'll find out soon enough. Don't get your parrots in a twist.

Suguru: W-what?

Hideaki: Either way, we've discussed all the big topics, have we not?

Ayako: …_yes._

Ayako: _We have the freezer._

Ayako: _We have the control room._

Ayako: _And finally, we have the photos and that DVD that Monokuma won't show us._

Ayako: We're done…

Hideaki: It appears we're stuck, aren't we?

Saya: Stuck?

Hideaki: What can we discuss next? Ayako, have any ideas?

Ayako: N-no…

Hideaki: Alright… let us think for a while then –

Saya: We're not stuck.

Ayako: S-Saya…

Hideaki: You have evidence to present?

Saya: I do, in fact. I've been holding it back.

Kouichi: H-hey! Why have you been hiding evidence from us?!

Saya: Well, it was for Ayako's sake.

Kouichi: A-Ayako's sake?

Hideaki: Ayako?

Ayako: _H-Hideaki…_

Ayako: Remember when I asked you whether or not you were the puppetmaster, Hideaki?

Hideaki: What was that?

Ayako: …

Ayako: What am I saying?

Ayako: I don't really know myself.

Hideaki: W-what?

Ayako:_ Am I really going to do this?_

Ayako: _I remember Hideaki told me before I'd have to face problems like this by myself._

Ayako: _So I will. I'll face Hideaki head on._

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: Do you think you have evidence about the puppetmaster?

Hideaki: If you do, **present it now.**

Saya: C'mon Ayako, you know what I am talking about.

Suguru: I-I'm lost – what exactly is going on?

Kichiro: Which one is the Puppetmaster?! C'mon! Show yourself already!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Eyepatch_]

Ayako: Hideaki, are you lying to us?

Hideaki: What was that?

Hideaki: Of course I'm not lying to you. I wouldn't lie to you.

Ayako: Then explain this. An eyepatch was found in one of the boxes.

Saya: The only one who wears an eyepatch is you, Hideaki. Your eye was gouged during Rikiya's death. The timeframe fits.

Ayako: How about it, Hideaki? Can you explain the presence of it?

Hideaki: Ayako… are you saying you suspect me to be the Puppetmaster?

Ayako: I…

Hideaki: I see… so in short, you don't trust me anymore, do you?

Ayako: J-just answer me! Explain this eyepatch!

Hideaki: Alright. If you all want to know… I'll spell out the obvious to you.

Rin: O, B, V, I, O, U, S?

Hideaki: No. Not literally.

Hideaki: That eyepatch could have belonged to Taisuke, no?

Ayako: Taisuke?

Ayako:_ Is that right?_

Ayako: _Did it belong to Taisuke? No, that's not the question I should ask right now._

Ayako: _Why do I distrust Hideaki so much now? Back there, it really felt as if… I really did suspect Hideaki._

Ayako: _But if I'm going to get all of us out… Get out myself… All the evidence is pointing to him right now._

Ayako: _Damn it!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: There is no guarantee that **the eyepatch belonged to me.**

Hideaki: **Therefore, ruling me out on this evidence would be foolish.**

Rin: Ada! But that eyepatch was found in the box!

Rin: **Taisuke was with us the whole time carrying it down to the lake!**

Saya: If you are saying that you are not carrying the eyepatch…

Saya: …Then show us proof! Show us proof right to undoubt you!

Hideaki: How about we flip the coin on its head?

Hideaki: **Show me proof that the eyepatch had to belong to me.**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: Box of Spares_]

Ayako: Here it is. A box of spare eyepatches.

Hideaki: That doesn't prove anything. I have a spare because I need them.

Saya: Have you ever used one of the spares before?

Hideaki: No, I never needed any of them.

Saya: And the trap is shut.

Hideaki: What?

Saya: If you take a look inside this box of spares, you will notice that there are slots where the eyepatches are packed into.

Hideaki: So?

Saya: It is my understanding that Monokuma provided you with a special eyepatch.

Ayako: In short, the box of spares belonged to you. None of them were taken by Monokuma.

Hideaki: What does that prove? It proves nothing!

Saya: Also, I'd like to mention Taisuke still had an eyepatch when he was killed.

Hideaki: T-tch!

Monokuma: W-what are you saying? Stop blaming Hideaki!

Hideaki: Monokuma?!

Monokuma: Y-yeah! It's not Hideaki at all!

Hideaki: S-stop it.

Monokuma: I'm someone else!

Ayako: _Monokuma… you're acting like you're backed up into a corner._

Ayako: I wonder why?

Saya: You wonder about what?

Ayako: N-Never mind that. But Hideaki, can you explain anything about them?

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: No.

Saya: So you are admitting defeat?

Hideaki: Of course not. You guys are going to make a life-threatening decision on something as miniscule as an eyepatch?

Hideaki: I don't buy it. It's stupid.

Ayako: H-Hideaki?

Hideaki: I won't give in that easily – especially when there are other things that need to be solved.

Suguru: Other things that need to be solved?

Kichiro: W-what are you talking about?

Rin: Like how that condom got into my room that one time?!

Kyouko: Okay… now your sexual jokes aren't even funny.

Hideaki: I will not be executed today. I will get out of here alive.

Hideaki: And I will bring Monokuma to justice!

Monokuma: That's right! Yup, you will! Because you aren't the puppetmaster!

Monokuma: Whew! Glad we got that cleared up! Cause Hideaki is definitely not the puppetmaster!

Monokuma: Nope!

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Monokuma is doing it again._

Ayako: _H-He's… Getting nervous? Why is he getting nervous when we point out Hideaki?_

Ayako: _Could it be that Hideaki… _

Ayako: _What is happening?! Don't I trust him?! I keep presenting evidence into his face – yet I question my decisions!_

Ayako: _I have to decide here! _

Ayako: _If I stop raiding on Hideaki…_

Ayako: _Would it be too late?_

Ayako: _If I continue to heckle Hideaki with evidence…_

Ayako: _Would I be wrong?_

Saya: Ayako, you have more evidence, don't you?

Ayako: _Do I? _

Ayako: _Do I trust Hideaki?_

Ayako: _Hideaki is looking at me… his face is grim._

Ayako: _It's like his typical stare._

Ayako: _His typical emotions._

Ayako: _His whole life has been like this. Without trust. Without anything…_

Ayako: _Is that a tear in his eye? Is he worried he'll be pointed out as the puppetmaster?_

Ayako:_** Is **__he the puppetmaster?_

Saya: Ayako!

Ayako: H-huh?

Saya: Do you have more evidence? If so, just present it now!

Kouichi: T-tch… Ayako… what the hell are you doing?

Kouichi: **Are you going to let the deaths of your friends go out in vain?!**

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Hideaki…_

Ayako: _I'll trust you. There's no way you're the puppetmaster._

Ayako: _That's my resolve now._

Ayako: _What I've said before, just ignore it._

Ayako: No. I have nothing.

Hideaki: Ayako…

Saya: I see. That's what you are going to do.

Saya: I'm going to have to take steed then, huh?

Kouichi: A-Ayako…

Suguru: Is Hideaki?

Rin: Ahaha! OMG, my stepbrother, it's actually sort of sad!

Kyouko: U-U-Uhhh…

Kichiro: Sons of bitches…

Ayako: _Everyone is up against arms at Hideaki._

Ayako: _I can't do anything about it except support him though._

Hideaki: Very well. If you have more evidence…

Hideaki: Show me.

Saya: Show it to you? Might I present it all at once?

Hideaki: How much evidence do you have?

Saya: I have this wooden plank. With blood on this plank… did it perhaps come from one of the boxes?

Hideaki: What? You mean one of the boxes that held the body parts of our friends?

Saya: One of the boxes was missing such a plank. It was also found in your room.

Hideaki: My dormitory?

Saya: Yes.

Saya: As well as the box of spare eyepatches.

Saya: In addition to that, there was a note that said to "hide the Despairification project."

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: So things don't look so great for me right now, do they?

Saya: I've been holding out on presenting this evidence for Ayako's sake.

Kouichi: Y-you mean Ayako knew about all this?!

Suguru: S-she's trying to protect the puppetmaster?!

Hideaki: The puppetmaster? I'm not the puppetmaster though.

Kichiro: W-why? Ayako, why would you do that?

Kichiro: You want to kill all of us?! Huh?!

Hideaki: A-Ayako?

Ayako: …

Ayako: Hideaki is not the puppetmaster! I know he's not! B-But!

Monokuma: Ayako is right! OMG! Shut up you guys!

Ayako: H-huh?

Saya: Monokuma's obviously slipping up here. Ever since we've been accusing Hideaki, he's been acting strange.

Ayako: …

Ayako: _He's not just "acting strange!"_

Ayako: Y-you guys! Hideaki isn't the puppetmaster! I know it!

Saya: The evidence all points to him.

Ayako: Y-You're wrong!

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: I suppose I have to admit defeat, don't I?

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: Admit defeat?

Ayako: What are you talking about?

Hideaki: I mean that I lost this trial. Everyone's obviously against me, so I lose.

Ayako: B-but! –

Monokuma: Yup. We lose.

Hideaki: No, _I _lose.

Monokuma: No. _We lose._

Saya: In any case, are you admitting to being the puppetmaster?

Hideaki: What was that? Are you really that dumb? Of course I'm not.

Saya: E-excuse me?

Hideaki: I am simply admitting that I lost. So go ahead – vote for me as the puppetmaster.

Monokuma: …

Saya: I suppose its ballot time then.

Ayako: W-what? Wait! –

Rin: Is it ballot time? Damn! I _so_ don't want to vote for my big bro! Or little bro? Oh who gives a flying fuck! Upu!

Ayako: Stop!

Kouichi: A-Ayako… **You could have killed us!**

Kouichi: **What the total fucking hell?!**

Ayako: K-Kouichi!

Monokuma: Well, I am a bear of my word.

Monokuma: So it's ballot time?

Hideaki: …

Ayako: H-Hideaki!

Monokuma: Well, it's been a nice run everyone!

Monokuma: Bye!

Ayako: Hideaki! What the hell is going on?!

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything right now.

Ayako: Right now?! When, then?!

Hideaki: …

Monokuma: Let's start!

Monokuma: It's the final ballot time!

* * *

_**Seventh class trial completed! Live to see another day!**_

Hideaki was the puppetmaster?

Hideaki was the puppetmaster?

Monokuma took out the slot machine, and as Hideaki's faces aligned, I was left to stare at Hideaki, who wore his usual expression. It was so like him not to be worried in a situation like this. But what the hell?

"H-hold on a minute!" I said. "This is weird!"

"We told you sentimentality will get in the way," Saya said. "Now Monokuma! Let us out of the school! Or should I say Hideaki?"

Monokuma didn't say a word. He was unresponsive, as if he was caught and didn't have any other reason to speak. After a while, Monokuma raised his paw.

"But what about his punishment?" Monokuma asked. "Don't you want to partake in that?"

"What?"

"I have an idea! _You _guys can unleash your rage on me!"

"We can unleash our rage?" Kouichi asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means chase me!" Monokuma said. "Chase me! Then kill me! It's a barrage of despair for me! I'll love it!"

Hideaki didn't speak. Everyone was staring at him, with cold-blooded eyes. They were waiting for him to make a move, and he was doing the same. We stared, and stared, and after a while, merely sprinted for the elevator, took my hand, and headed up to the surface.

"T-they're escaping!" Kouichi screamed, as the elevator door shut on them.

The elevator slowly climbed to the surface, while I looked at Hideaki's grim face.

"We don't have much time," Hideaki said. "I'll get you out of the school. Don't worry."

"But the others!"

"They won't listen to any reason at all," Hideaki said.

"But we can't leave them here!" I said. "Why are you only taking me?!"

"Because you trusted me," Hideaki said. "Plus, I definitely trust you."

"So we're just going to leave like that?!"

"Of course not," Hideaki said. "In fact, I need to go to the catacombs for a second."

"What?!"

"The control room should still be unlocked," Hideaki said. "I want to know. I need to know who the puppetmaster here. That's one of the reasons I came back to this school. Don't interfere with me."

His last words had a sense of hostility, and I silenced myself. The elevator continued to move and move, for what seemed like an eternity. In the elevator, we weren't talking to each other. We weren't even enjoying each other's company. The air had an uncomfortable feeling to it. Hideaki was dead serious, and I was dead confused.

"We have to hurry then," I said.

Hideaki nodded, and as the doors to the elevator opened, we sprinted together to the catacombs. We went straight towards the cafeteria, and we ran straight down the stairs, and we entered the control room. Hideaki was right – it was still unlocked. The puppetmaster was still down that hatch!

We were going to catch him! We could free Hideaki from his chains! When we reveal who the puppetmaster really was, we'd free Hideaki! We'd all leave together. That would've been the ideal ending. The happy ending that everyone dreams they could get. I'd leave with Hideaki and all my friends, and we'd the rest of our lives, happy and relieved!

The school towered over me as I stared up at its greatness. I remember that day – the first day of school. I thought that entering the school would lead me to a life of hope. I'd meet friends, and I'd pursue my dreams. I thought that I would live the best life I could live.

But like I said, this story wouldn't be much of a story if something didn't happen, right?

As I reached down to open the hatch, a gunshot rang through the room. Down the hallway, a bullet crashed one of the monitors, and out came Kouichi, holding a gun in one hand, and a katana blade in another.

"W-where did you get that blade?" I asked. "And gun? What the hell are you going to do with it?"

"Monokuma gave it to us," Kouichi said. "Hideaki – you sick bastard. What kind of execution do you want? To be killed by your friends?"

"You still think I'm the puppetmaster?" Hideaki asked. "Fine. Then let's not open this hatch right now."

"What?!"

"You see this hatch down here? Remember what Monokuma said? The puppetmaster is hiding there. If we open this…"

"To hell with that!" Kouichi screamed. "You're the fucking puppetmaster! I'm going to kill you! I couldn't do anything to save the others! All my friends died because of you! So I'm doing what I can! I can fight! I'll take you down, you fucking bastard!

"Kouichi! Stop it!" I screamed.

Kouichi lunged towards Hideaki, who swiftly dodged his attack. Hideaki sprinted out of the control room, and as I saw Kouichi sprint after him, I realized Hideaki didn't have a chance. He was going up against a professional contract killer. If I didn't stop Kouichi, my other friend, Hideaki would die. I stared at the hatch. That evil hatch. It contained all the secrets, and would save us. All of us. Except Hideaki.

Hideaki would be dead.

I knew what to do.

I chased after the two fighting, and in the wide hallways of the catacombs, the two were fighting it out. Hideaki was dodging all his attacks, but Kouichi was faster. Hideaki was slashed in the face with the sword, and the gun was pointed at his chest.

"Stop it!" I screamed, and I ran towards Kouichi and tackled him out of the way.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kouichi screamed. "I'm trying to save us! Why are you getting in my way?!"

"Because you're wrong!" I screamed. "Hideaki isn't the puppetmaster!"

"Fuck off!" Kouichi screamed, and he kicked me across the face, knocking me back. "I'm trying to save you too!"

"I don't need your help!" I screamed. "I know Hideaki isn't the puppetmaster!"

Kouichi ran towards Hideaki again. Hideaki tripped Kouichi, and Kouichi tumbled over. Hideaki tried to run away, but Kouichi grabbed Hideaki's leg, and Hideaki fell flat on his face. I ran towards them, but Kouichi shot me in the leg.

"What the fuck?!" I screamed, grabbing my bleeding leg.

"It was for your own good!" Kouichi screamed, as he lunged towards Hideaki again. I tried to crawl towards them, but Hideaki kept leading Kouichi away.

"Stop it!" I screamed. I ripped a piece of my shirt off, and tied it around my bleeding leg, and I tried to limp towards them. "You've get everything wrong!"

Kouichi slashed Hideaki in the shoulder, and as the fight continued, Kouichi slashed Hideaki in his eyepatch. It was knocked off, and it revealed a gouged out eye. An empty hole of sad emotions. Kouichi tackled Hideaki to the ground, and stuck the gun on his head.

"This ends now," Kouichi said. I ran towards Kouichi, and tripped on my other leg. As I tumbled over, I grabbed Kouichi's shirt. He turned around, and took a look at my face. I was crying. There was the pain of being shot, and then there was the pain of the chance that I'd lose Hideaki.

"Please don't," I said. "He's not the puppetmaster."

Kouichi's angry face continued, and as he looked at me, he growled. He took the katana, slashed me in the face, and knocked me over. He slammed the gun down on the floor, and kicked me over to the other side of the room.

"Ayako!" Hideaki screamed.

"You're with the puppetmaster, aren't you?!" Kouichi screamed. "Are you a mole too?! Are you a mole like Hideaki was?!"

"S-stop it!" I screamed. He pinned me down to the ground, and held the katana over my head.

"You are, aren't you?!" he screamed. "If you are, I'm just going to have to kill you too!"

Kill me? Kill me too?

"D-did you forget about your family?" I asked. "You killed them for no reason, didn't you?"

Kouichi's face immediately shrunk, and he loosened his grip a little bit. I still couldn't free myself, but I was getting to him. I had to subdue him. Remind him not to make the same mistakes again. If he did, it would be heartbreak.

"Hell no," Kouichi said. "Of course I didn't forget."

"So stop this," I said. "Don't kill your friends over nothing." Tears were streaming down my face as Kouichi stared at me. Blood dripped down from his sword onto my face. You could say it sort of looked like I was crying blood.

Crying blood… blood comes from endless pain, and crying comes from hurt emotions. Mix the two together, and you have a clear cut message. I'm in despair right now. Totally confused, unbeknownst of what is happening.

This is what despair feels like.

I never had to feel it in my life before.

Now I'm facing it head on.

What's going on?

Why is this happening?

Kouichi was still holding the sword over my head, his face twisted with emotion. Was he sad? Was he angry? Was he still going to kill me?

"P-please," I muttered. "Stop this. We need to… so… stop it."

Kouichi looked down at me. He was going to let go… He was going to stop…

I could never have been more wrong, as the blade was soon plunged into my chest. I could see the hilt from my chest, but not the blade. My vision was getting blurry. My head started to hurt.

"Ayako!" Hideaki screamed. Or, at least, I thought I heard him say that. Was he calling out my name? Who was calling out my name?

"K-Kouichi," I muttered. "Why?" Kouichi pulled the blade out of my chest as I screamed in pain.

"I'll fucking kill anyone involved with the puppetmaster," Kouichi screamed.

It was official. Kouichi was plunged into insanity. It wasn't even anything like despair. It was just ultimate insanity. He was misled by Monokuma, and now here I am. Chest bleeding… leg shot. Hideaki was at the other side of the room. What was he doing? Isn't he going to save me?

Was he the puppetmaster?

Kouichi took the sword, and prepared to get me one more time. This would be the final blow.

My vision blurred some more. I could taste blood as it left my mouth. Kouichi raised the sword, and started to scream.

I closed my eyes, and prepared. Prepared for a sharp blade to slam down onto the ground and kill me. It was a bloody nightmare. I was about to be killed like this. I never got to find out who the puppetmaster was. I was never able to leave with my friends.

Death… despair… those two things are ultimately connected, and left a sad mark on everyone who had to experience it. Even if someone died, even if the whole world was overjoyed by the death of someone, there would be always one who despaired. I wondered who would despair over me when I die? It's obvious that no one was coming to help us. Was I forgotten? Would people remember me? Was I even missed?

These were the sort of questions that you ask when you're on your death bed. I didn't realize that I would be affected by it until death was literally right in front of me.

"Everyone," I said. Why did I say that? Who was I talking too? Was I talking to all my friends?

I closed my eyes, and prepared. There was nothing to do except to accept my fate. What was going to happen – it would come soon.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more for death's hand to grab me by the waist and drag me to Heaven or Hell.

But it never came.

Why isn't it coming?

Did Kouichi stop?

What was happening?

I opened my eyes again, and to my shock, Kouichi was grabbing his chest. His chest was bleeding. He fell over, and Hideaki was staring over him, his face in a fury. Smoke still rose from the tip of the gun, and Kouichi fell to the floor. He was crying, and he reached his hand out for me.

"I'm sorry," Kouichi said.

I crawled over, still grabbing my chest. I regained consciousness enough to hear him out.

"I went a little insane, didn't I?" Kouichi asked.

"Y-you idiot," I said.

"Hideaki," Kouichi called out. Hideaki walked over, and kneeled down. He had put his eyepatch back on.

"You aren't the puppetmaster?"

Hideaki shook his head, and looked down at Kouichi. Kouichi nodded.

"You're fucking strong," he said to me. "I stabbed you down to the hilt with a katana, and a simple bullet in the chest for me is about to end my life."

"You're not going to die," I said. "It's just a gunshot." I was crying, Kouichi was crying, and Hideaki was crying. It wasn't hard sobs, but sniffs and whimpers. It was even worse than bawling tears out. It was a simple, solemn despair.

"Do you forgive me?" Kouichi asked. "I didn't mean to snap like that. I wasn't lying when I said that I felt like I couldn't do anything. During the trials, I was never helpful. During investigations, I couldn't do anything. Now, I almost killed you two."

"It's not too late for any of us," I said, grabbing my chest. My vision started to blur again – not because of the tears.

"I remember killing my family," Kouichi said. "I remember everything now… it was Thanksgiving… Did I say something else before? No, that doesn't matter. I said I would go out for some errands… was it milk or turkey? I lined myself up on a tree far away… I put a suppressor on my gun. I looked through the scope, and I pulled the trigger. The house was set on fire… everyone died."

"What are you saying that for?" I asked through my tears.

"I don't know," Kouichi said. "Am I reminding myself that I would die in despair?"

"What?"

"I'm dying in despair right now," Kouichi said. "Is it selfish to say that?"

"Don't die in sadness," I said. "You've been enough help."

I grabbed his hand, and he squeezed mine.

"This sort of feels like a harem right now," he joked.

"Don't make those kinds of jokes on your death bed," I said, and Kouichi closed his eyes. His body turned colder, and colder, until life escaped from his body.

"K-Kouichi…" I said.

My vision blurred even more.

I was dying. I could feel it. As I fell over, the lights went out. I think Hideaki grabbed me, and started to scream my name. Did he think I was dead too?

* * *

The others ran down the stairs, and saw Ayako and I.

I, Hideaki, was afraid.

Afraid that I'd lose the best friend I ever had. As I was wrapping her wound, the others were horrified to see Kouichi lying against the wall. His chest was covered in blood, and all they could see was me in front of Kouichi and Ayako.

"H-he killed the both of them!" Suguru screamed. Roger began barking in hostility.

"T-the hell happened here?" Kichiro muttered.

"A-Ayako," Saya muttered. "Did you let sentimentality…"

"Never mind that! What about Hideaki?" Kyouko asked.

"Who did he kill?! Which one is the real one?! OMG, what?!"

"W-well, he is the puppetmaster," Saya mumbled. "Right?"

Their words were ignorant. I killed Kouichi not as the puppetmaster, not that I am him anyways. I killed Kouichi, who held Ayako's life by a string. Kouichi was about to cut it. I didn't let that happen.

I ignored their hostile words, and looked at Ayako. I stopped the bleeding, somehow, which was a miracle. Her breathing was slow, but steady.

"You strong bastard," I said.

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Ahahaha!"_

"What the hell is that?!" Saya screamed.

That voice! –

"_You guys have discovered a dead body, didn't you?! I'm just giddy with despair right now! I'm laughing so hard at this display of horror! These emotions are running rampant through you guys! Are you guys sad?"_

"What the hell is going on?" Saya muttered. "This shouldn't be happening! Hideaki is right there! He's literally right there!"

"_Upupupu, I feel you, Saya!"_

Saya growled.

"_You worked so hard to convict Hideaki! You did it to protect your very first friends, but that was all in vain, wasn't it? Because you were __**dead wrong!**__ And now Kouichi is __**dead, dead!**__ And now Ayako could be __**dead, dead!**__ But never mind that, you all know the drill!"_

"After discovering a dead body," Kichiro growled, "a class trial is held."

"_You got it, dude! We're going to hold a class trial very soon, so please investigate to the best of your abilities!"_

"I thought the last trial was the last one," I screamed. "What are you planning, Monokuma? Why did you lie?"

"_Well, you see, I guess it was sort of bad that I lied, isn't it? But the reason for that will be apparent soon enough! Now, shall we make this the __**very last class trial?**__"_

"How can we trust those words?" Saya asked in content.

"_Don't worry, I won't lie this time. But this won't just be a test to find out who the puppetmaster is. No, this is going to be a new test."_

"A new test?" I asked. "Of what kind?"

"_You're going to find out all the mysteries of the school. To hell with just the puppetmaster. Why was this school created? What happened to everyone here? What's happening at the outside world?"_

What's happening at the outside world?

"_Yup, it'll be the __**real**__ climax of this story! Now, are you ready?"_

I looked at Ayako. She was breathing fine, but this wouldn't be the first time death nearly grabs her. I'm going to save her, and the two of us are going to get out together with our friends.

"Ready for what?" I asked calmly.

"H-he's back," Saya said. "The collected Hideaki is back."

I never told anyone why I never really harbored much emotions. Was it how I was grown up? I'm not sure. I suppose it was because it's easier for me to avoid people by masking my fear and happiness. I've sort of just grown into that mask. I wanted to show it to someone, though.

"We'll get out of here," I said to Ayako, her breathing steady. "I'll get you out of here.

"_Now get investigating, you bastards! Get investigating for what very well could be __**the last trial of your life!**__"_

_**Continued in Chapter 8: Investigation**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#23

Monokuma: This story has been brought to you by the depths of an amateur writer's mind!

Monokuma: Monokuma would like to thank all of you for your continued support!

Monokuma: By the way, fun fact, this chapter was twenty two pages on word!

Monokuma: Useless fact, but it makes the author feel proud he was finally able to make such a long-ass and boring chapter!

Monokuma: By the way, isn't Monokuma Theatre a better way to deliver author notes?

Monokuma: Too bad the story is ending soon, huh?

Monokuma: Oh, shit! I broke the fourth wall too much times!

**AN: For real, I'm sorry that this chapter felt so rushed and stuff. It was really hard to write this chapter, and it's going to be even harder to write the next one. So please be understanding if my writing sort of sucks now. **


	26. Chapter 8: Investigation

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

_One Final Stroke of Sadness_

-INVESTIGATION-

* * *

**A list of ammunition so far:**

1: Hideaki: Monokuma claims that Hideaki himself is a "hint."

2: Hideaki's Exit and Entrance: Hideaki left the school after escaping his execution, and came back to the school later. He doesn't remember why, and fainted like he did when entering the school.

3: Sub-Zero Fridge: The fridge has thirteen bodies lined up against a wall, stuck on meat hooks. The room was covered in blood.

4: Fridge Properties: The bodies inside the fridge are decayed, but fridges like these would perserve bodies instead of letting them rot. The blood is also dried, meaning no one was recently killed here.

5: Security Cameras: Watched over us inside of the control room.

6: Monokuma Controller: A machine in the back of an unknown room controls Monokuma.

7: Photos: There were photos found in the box of the AV Room supply closet.

8: DvD: A DvD labelled: "Top Secret: Despairifcation Project," was found in the box in the AV Room supply closet. Monokuma took it from us. In the trial, he stated that we'd eventually see this DvD, but it wasn't the "right time."

9: Boxes: In the boxes we had previously thrown into the lake, are parts of our deceased friends.

10: Eyepatch: An eyepatch was found in one of the boxes.

11: Wooden Plank: A board with dry blood on it.

12: Box of Spares: Spare eyepatches found in one of the boxes. One eyepatch is missing, corresponding with the other eyepatch found in the other box.

13: Note: A note addressed to Hideaki, telling him to not speak of the Despairification Project.

**(Mini-AN: Part of this chapter is in Hideaki's POV. When it returns to Ayako, it is marked by three asterisks: ***)**

* * *

"_Are you ready for your final class trial?"_ Monokuma asked us through the intercom.

That was our question. Of course I had every intention of beating the puppetmaster. Monokuma asked us through the intercom whether or not we were ready for our class trial. Perhaps I wasn't; but I wasn't going to lose. I had to win for the sake of Ayako. For the sake of all my friends. Everyone surrounded me and Ayako after Monokuma's announcement ended, and I could feel their hostile stares pointing straight at me. Next to me; Kouichi was dead. In front of me, Ayako was on the verge of death.

"Y-you killed them!" Suguru cried. "W-we caught you red handed!"

"Ayako isn't dead," I sighed. "She was stabbed by Kouichi."

"I-I don't believe that bullcrap!" Kyouko cried. "I don't!"

"Never mind that," Saya said. "If that announcement was made, then that could only mean that Hideaki isn't the puppetmaster."

I nodded, and placed my hand on Ayako's cheek. Her chest was still bleeding, but it had slowed down after I wrapped something around it.

"I'm taking her to the infirmary," I said.

"We're coming with you," Saya said.

"No, investigate. We don't have much time."

I knew this was very well a lie. I killed Kouichi; I was the villain. It was _me_ who had to face punishment again. I ran my hand through my hair, and headed up the stairs. Everyone followed behind me, to my annoyance.

"I thought I said to investigate," I said.

"I'm not listening to you," Saya rebuttled. "Besides, the only one who could have killed Kouichi was you or Ayako. We need to be there when Ayako wakes up."

Ayako? They suspect Ayako too?

"You suspect Ayako?" I asked.

"She's a likely suspect," Saya said. "Kouichi was going after you, Hideaki. He wanted to kill you as we all thought you were the puppetmaster. That was Monokuma's offer. That we were allowed to execute you ourselves."

"That didn't seem weird at all?" I sighed.

"Either way, she had an attachment to you. She protected you – that is a likely method to murder."

"Don't waste your breath," I said. "_I _killed Kouichi."

"W-what?!"

"What indeed!" Monokuma said, arriving in front of us. Kichiro tripped down the stairs in surprise, and the others squealed as Monokuma appeared before us.

"It's you!" Kyouko screamed.

"Yup! It's me!" Monokuma said. "But Hideaki! What the hell, man? You totally made this climax anti-climactic! Don't you have any feel for adrenaline?"

"They were suspecting Ayako," I said. "I won't let that happen. She wouldn't lay a finger on anyone. Now I have to get her to the infirmary."

I pushed Monokuma aside, and headed up the stairs with the others in pursuit.

"You suck!" Monokuma said, calling out. "But you're just talk! Maybe you didn't murder Kouichi!"

I smirked. What would this investigation be? A time to convince someone I'm the murderer? How interesting that was, but if it was to protect Ayako, I could easily partake in it. All the evidence points to me anyways.

As we piled into the infirmary, I laid Ayako on a bed. She was still breathing, but her breathing grew weaker, in tiny lapses of breaths. I grabbed a clean gauze and tried to stop the bleeding; but the wound was deep and the blood kept coming out.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath.

Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it tightly around Ayako's chest to place pressure on it. Cleaning up blood around her chest, I turned to the others. Monokuma had given us the Monokuma File on the staircase, as tradition, even though I had already admitted to committing the crime.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

14: Monokuma File 7: The seventh Monokuma file. Reads: Victim: Kouichi Akazawa | Time of Death: 1:33 PM | Kouichi was killed by a gunshot; a bullet shot through his chest.

"You shot him?" Saya asked. "With the gun he grabbed to try and kill you?"

I nodded.

"But why? W-why did you kill Kouichi? Because he tried to kill you?"

"My methods aren't that cheap," I said. "By the time he was killed, Ayako had already been stabbed to the hilt by a katana. It's a miracle that she's alive at all."

"So you killed him in vengeance?" Saya asked. "That's ridiculous."

"It wasn't vengeance," I said. "Kouichi would have killed Ayako. It was to save the only person who trusted me. That's all."

The room turned silent after that. Was there some weight to what I said? Did the others perhaps feel upset for not trusting me? The atmosphere of the room turned heavy; as if something was pushing down on the air and we were all being crushed by its force. Maybe that was an exaggeration; but I knew nothing about "awkwardness," it was a completely new feeling after being shut off from everyone for so long.

"I'm not leaving Ayako here," I said, as the others headed out of the infirmary.

"No one is going to murder her," Saya said.

"No one would, anyways," Kichiro said, putting his hand in his pocket.

"I'm still not leaving her here," I said. "She needs to be watched. Her wound is that bad."

"Do what you want," Saya said. "Just cause you admitted to the crime doesn't mean you're in the clear, though," Saya said.

"What?"

"It's easy to lie for someone that you love," Saya said. "It all stems from sentimentality." After those words, Saya left the infirmary to head for what I presumed to be the catacombs.

"Damn it," I sighed. But all the evidence pointed to me. There was no doubt about it. I looked down at Ayako, her breathing becoming more regulated. I unwrapped the blanket I had wrapped around her chest, and noticed that the bleeding had stopped. Cleaning up the dry blood, I placed a wet towel around her forehead to keep her head cool; she had a pounding fever.

Looking down on her… she was peaceful looking. Like she was sleeping. A regular girl sleeping on a regular bed. I wrapped some bandages around her chest to cover the wound, and then I covered her with a blanket.

"This is weird," I said to myself. This _was_ weird. I always felt it was weird, how I felt about Ayako. This feeling in the pit of my stomach; what was it? I knew what I felt towards Ayako was deeper than friendship, but I couldn't explain this emotion. What was it? What… what was it?

As I was thinking to myself, I heard a groan from the bed. Turning around, I smiled to see Ayako… slowly… and slowly…

…opening my eyes, to see Hideaki there in front of me.

"H-Hideaki," I mumbled. He turned to me, and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I grabbed my chest, it stung immensely, but the pain was tolerable.

"Y-yeah," I said. "K-Kouichi…"

"He's dead," he said. "I killed him. You know this."

"Why?" I asked.

"He was going to kill you," Hideaki said. "I needed to stop him."

"O-oh," I said. "That sucks."

I was barely aware of anything right now. I felt like I was drunk with pain; saying random things at random times because I didn't know what the hell was going on.

"We're holding a class trial," Hideaki said.

Those words immediately sprung me back to life. If Hideaki killed Kouichi… then…

"You'll be executed!" I gasped. Hideaki nodded.

"But the point of this trial is also to pinpoint the mysteries of the school," Hideaki said. "It's not just about the murder."

"B-but either way –"

"Yup!" Monokuma said, popping out of nowhere with a bouquet of flowers. "Here you go, Ayako! I picked them especially for you!" The flowers were all daisies, neatly aligned to each other and made very pretty.

"But I'm allergic to daisies," I said.

"Oh, I know," Monokuma said. "Anyways, I should probably just execute Hideaki now, but that wouldn't be fair, now would it?"

"B-but, he's going to die?"

"Unless he's found out to actually _not_ be the murderer. Then he'll live!"

If he's not found out to be the murderer? Hideaki could survive?

I had a small flashback to all the others. They mistreated Hideaki so many times. They didn't take the time to understand him. Hideaki deserved to live. Is it something I could change? Could I convince the others someone else did the murder?

"I'm going to the catacombs!" I said.

"A-Ayako! Wait!"

Kouichi died there. I know it – I remember. If the others are there, I need to convince them I did the murder. I knew what I had to do.

Save Hideaki.

* * *

_**Location: The Catacombs | Time: 2:59 PM | Chapter Eight**_

I ran as fast as I could to the cafeteria. The weather outside was terrible; it was pouring rain and the water was seeping into my bandage, making my injury burn even greater than before. That didn't help with the already existing pain; I felt like I was going to die.

But I couldn't die.

Heading down the Catacombs, I saw everyone investigating the scene of the crime. How could I convince everyone that the murder was comitted by me?

"Ayako!" Suguru called out. "You're awake! Say hi Roger!"

_Bark!_

"H-hi."

I wondered if I could face my friends without any guilt, knowing that I'd I try to send them to their death. I asked myself many times whether or not it was worth it. Everyone here would die because of my selfish desire to save Hideaki.

"Ayako," Saya called out. "Come here."

I walked over to Saya, and she held up a handgun.

"A classical Colt M1911 with a silver finish," Saya said.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Movies. Anyways, this is undoubtedly the murder weapon."

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

14: M1911: The murder weapon used to kill Kouichi.

"That's obvious, I guess," I said.

"Who used it though?" Saya asked. "That's the question."

Who used it? I didn't, but the point was to save Hideaki.

"It was me," I said. "I killed Kouichi."

"What?!"

"H-He was going to kill Hideaki! I panicked!"

"Stop making up lies," Saya said.

"W-what? I'm not lying!"

"Hideaki already admitted to comitting the crime," Saya said. "Why would he lie about it?"

"T-to protect me, of course!" I said.

"Then prove to me you shot this gun," Saya said. "During the trial."

"W-what?"

"There's no evidence of it right now. The trial is going to be a fight between you and Hideaki to convict yourselves."

A fight between Hideaki? Would it a fight between Hideaki and I to convict ourselves. I turned around and saw Hideaki running towards me, and I had to think quickly.

"Which one of you is the real killer, I wonder?" Saya asked herself. "May the real killer win, otherwise, we'll all be killed."

Saya left quickly, finishing her investigation, and Hidekai ran over to me.

"You shouldn't be running with that wound," Hideaki sighed.

"S-sorry," I said. I looked at Hideaki. He closed his eye and rubbed his other one on his eyepatch. When Takako had gouged his eye out, I wonder what it felt like? How painful was it to have your eye ripped out of your head? Not that I _actually_ wanted to know. I'm wondering like how someone wonders what death feels like. No one really wants it.

That was a weird comparison, huh?

I walked over to the corpse of Kouichi and kneeled down beside him. I knew very well how he was killed, yet it seemed traditional to take a look anyway. In his chest was a bullet wound. The M1911 bullet was stuck in his chest.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

15: M1911 Bullet: The bullet shot out of the M1911 that shot out of the gun and killed Kouichi.

"Na, na, na!" Rin said. "It's your friendly homicidal maniac!"

"Y-you're not homicidal though, are you?" I asked.

"Nope!"

"Then why did you call yourself homicidal?"

"Huh?!"

…

"Never mind," I said.

"Bye!" Rin said, and she ran up the stairs after Saya.

"That was disappointing," I said, returning back to Kouichi's body.

I looked at the open hole in Kouichi's body. I could barely reach the bullet… sticking my two smallest fingers in there, I pulled out the bullet from inside his body. Wiping away the blood on his shirt, I jammed the bullet into another part in his body, and moved his body a little bit so it didn't look too suspicious. I then entered this information in the evidence list.

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

16: New Bullet Hole: A bullet hole suggesting a second shot has been fired.

I went over to the area of where Kouichi stabbed me in the chest, and I took the katana off the floor. It was undoubtedly used to stab me, and blood was all the way at the hilt.

"How did I survive this?" I asked to myself. "I guess it's a miracle indeed."

I walked back over to Kouichi's body, and placed the katana behind is body when no one was looking. Hideaki walked over to me, having investigated elsewhere, and sat down next to Kouichi's body, placing his hands on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I just have a headache."

I looked at Hideaki, his face solemn.

"It's sort of weird," he said. "I know I'm going to die soon. It's a weird feeling, don't you think?"

"Y-you're not going to die," I said. "This class trial isn't just for Kouichi. If we take down the puppetmaster –"

"The puppetmaster would have prepared for that," Hideaki sighed.

"Yup!"

Monokuma appeared from the ceiling and dropped down in front of us, wearing a tutu.

"Why are you wearing a tutu?" I asked.

"It's a beartu!" he snapped. "Anyways, Hideaki's words speak truth! The moment the murderer for Kouichi is revealed in the trial, I will promptly execute the villain. Simple as that."

"D-damn you," I said. "And I still need an answer on that tutu."

"It's a beartu!" Monokuma snapped again, and he left. I sighed, and stuffed my face into my palms. This wasn't happening, was it?

I looked at Hideaki, who was placing his hand on his cheek. I'd convict myself, and he'd go free. But for some reason, it looked like he didn't want to go free.

"W-we'll get out," I said. "Or, you will."

"No, I killed Kouichi," Hideaki said. "You know that."

"No, I killed Kouichi," I said.

"What?!" Hideaki asked.

"I'm trying to convince myself too," I said. "But you're getting out of here. I don't care about anything else. You're going to leave, and you're going to fight against Monokuma."

"T-that's ridiculous," Hideaki said. "The others –"

"I want you to live!" I told Hideaki. "I don't care about anything else!"

"S-stop it," Hideaki said. "You're spouting bullshit."

"What?!"

"Why do you want me to live so much?" Hideaki asked. "Is that just a tunnel for you to feel good about yourself?"

"No! I want you to live because you've been one of the best friends I ever had!"

"Friends," Hideaki said. "Friends come and go. You don't kill five others just because you want to save me. That's preposterous."

"I'm convicting myself whether you like it or not!"

"Well, I don't like it," Hideaki said. "You think you're being strong, or something, by saving me. You wouldn't be doing me a favor by doing this."

"You'll live!"

"I'll see everyone die in front of me," Hideaki snapped. "I'll have to live carrying the dead souls of everyone here. They would have all died in despair. Besides, how do you think I'll feel after having to see _you_ gone? If there's anything I hate most, it's any form of pity."

"How do you think _I'll_ feel?!" I asked. "You aren't considering anything about me either!"

"Are you really prepared to die for me?" Hideaki asked, standing up. "Because if you are, then I have no objections to that. You do your own stupid thing without me."

I looked at Hideaki in the face. He was genuinely angry, and held that face for as long as I could sense.

"…_then I have no objections to that."_

Why did that shock me so much?

Hideaki climbed back up the stairs, and I was left in his dust. Either way, I wasn't done investigating. There was still the secrets of the school to investigate.

"H-hey, you two alright?" Kichiro asked, coming in from nowhere. "I heard you like, yellin' at each other."

"We're fine," I said abruptly. "I'm going to the AV Room."

"The AV Room?"

"There might be more to find there," I said. "I want to find out about this despairification project that Monokuma is talking about."

"What do you mean?" Kichiro asked. "I don't follow ya over here…"

"Following?"

"I-I guess," Kichiro said. The two of us walked to the AV Room slowly. I turned back to stare at Kouichi's body, and I suddenly had strokes of guilt. I manipulated his body to save someone else. It was if as Kouichi's death never affected me in any way. He was a good friend. No – a great friend. Yet I did that to his body. It was as if I had complete disrespect towards him. Was it good to think like that? Should I have thought in a different way?

"Are you okay?" Kichiro asked. "You're actin' weird."

"S-sorry," I said. "I'm just sort of shocked about Kouichi's death." No, that wasn't a lie.

"Y-yeah," Kichiro said. "I actually thought the deaths were over."

He turned to me, and sighed.

"Did you really kill Kouichi?"

"What?"

"I know you said something about that," Kichiro said. "I don't really believe it though."

"I was saving Hideaki," I said. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"Huh? Is that true?" Kichiro asked. "When we were down there, you were with Hideaki. He was holding you. How is it possible that you killed Kouichi?"

"Kouichi lived long enough to stab me with a katana," I said. "Is that believable enough?"

"Yeah, sure," Kichiro said. "It's a believable _story._ Not believable words."

I turned to Kichiro, who stared at me. "Whatever," he finally said. "We'll find out in the trial."

_*Ding, dong! Ding, dong!*_

"_Attention, you guys! Please head to the gazebo right away!"_

What? What about the AV Room?

"W-wait!" I called out, hoping Monokuma heard me. "We didn't find anything out about the school!"

"_That's not my problem,"_ Monokuma said. _"You shouldn't have been such lazy investigators. All focused up on Kouichi's death."_

"You gave us barely enough time!" I choked.

"_Whatever, head to the gazebo unless you want to be __**punished.**__"_

Punished?

"_Seriously though, I sort of agree with you. An anti-climactic investigation, huh? It's as if this is just a regular investigation for one of those regular filler cases when someone like Tomakazu was killed by that what's-her-face priest."_

"Stop referencing that," Kichiro said. "We're coming."

"_Yes, sir!"_

Kichiro grabbed my hand, and forced me to go to the gazebo.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" I asked.

"We're going to the gazebo," Kichiro said. "Our final class trial."

"What about the AV Room?"

"We'll be okay," Kichiro said. "I have confidence in us."

That's right. Our final class trial, will be orchestrated by us.

A battle between me and Hideaki?

Who's going to be convicted? Who's going to die?

This class trial is not to live. Only to die.

Let's finish this once and for all!

"A-alright," I said to Kichiro. "We can do this."

Here comes Ayako Kawasumi, to end Monokuma's treachery, and save Hideaki.

_**Continued in Chapter 8: Class Trial**_

**AN: Okay seriously I am so disappointed with this. I tried hard to get this update finished for you guys today, and the result is NOT what I wanted it to be. Either way, this is just the investigation. The class trial is coming soon, and I swear to you I will not rush that one. I'm sorry if this was so crappy. But you know, there wasn't really anything to investigate in this "investigation." **

**Oh, crap! Did that tell you something about how the trial will be played out?! I hope it didn't, because if you guys manage to find out a spoiler from that, you know, would sort of suck.**

**;)**


	27. Chapter 8: Class Trial

Monokuma: I'm bubbling with excitement!

Monokuma: These guys have no idea what's about to hit them in the face!

Monokuma: Is it time to start the **final** class trial?

Monokuma: How badly will these students despair by the end of it, I wonder?

Monokuma: Upupu, I'm desperate to find out!

Monokuma: Ahaha!

Monokuma: Welcome you guys, to your **eighth **and **officially final** class trial!

Monokuma: Similar to the last trial, I feel as if I should change the rules a little bit here.

Hideaki: Will you be participating in this trial again?

Monokuma: Hmm, half and half.

Monokuma: While this is also a trial to find out more about the school and my identity…

Monokuma: Don't forget that this is also Kouichi's class trial!

Monokuma: Whenever you guys pinpoint the murderer of Kouichi, is when a swift but elegant execution will take place!

Saya: So it's either Hideaki or Ayako that will leave us during this trial today?

Monokuma: I don't know! I'm just here for the show!

Monokuma: Or, I lied, I do know.

Monokuma: Anyways, let's say that you guys vote off the **wrong** killer for Kouichi.

Monokuma: The game will then **end** for **everybody** except the villain, like usual.

Hideaki: Say the villain is incorrectly pointed out… the victor will then leave without knowing anything about the school?

Monokuma: You got it buddy!

Monokuma: Now, let's assume that you guys point your finger at the **correct** killer!

Monokuma: In that case, the villain will then be **promptly punished,** and the trial will continue.

Ayako: What happens after that?

Monokuma: That is when I prefer you guys to talk about the **identity of me** and the **secrets of this school.**

Monokuma: One cannot limit our secrets to _just_ this school though!

Kichiro: Er, what do you mean by that?

Monokuma: Oh, you should find out soon enough.

Suguru: I-is the puppetmaster one of us?

Monokuma: _Mayyybeee….._

Suguru: Eh?!

Roger: Bark!

Monokuma: Continuing where I left off.

Monokuma: Let us assume you get everything I wanted you guys to get wrong, right!

Monokuma: Then **I** will be executed!

Monokuma: However, say that you guys get everything wrong like I wanted you to!

Monokuma: Then **you** will be executed!

Kyouko: Eh?! Just like that?!

Monokuma: You guys have two threads to live off of right now! Upupupu!

Monokuma: There is the murder of Kouichi… and then the discovery of who I really am!

Monokuma: This should be one intense climax!

Monokuma: Now, now, since right now, we are **mainly** talking about Kouichi, I will not extensively participate.

Monokuma: You should not worry about biased results.

Hideaki: I suppose so.

Hideaki: But the killer was me.

Hideaki: My, my, that was quick, wasn't it?

Saya: The killer was you? Ayako says the same thing.

Ayako: Y-yeah. I'm the killer, no doubt!

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: I see. So we really are going to do this face-off, huh?

Ayako: I guess so.

Suguru: F-face off?

Monokuma: Hmm? This is interesting! You two are trying to convict yourselves!

Monokuma: Yet, one of you is not the killer! This is going to be an intense party, huh?

Kyouko: S-so, you two are going to try to convict _yourselves?_ Not even each other?

Ayako: W-why would I convict each other? I'm obviously the murderer!

Hideaki: That's not what you told me.

Ayako: Huh?

Hideaki: You told me you are trying to save me, the _correct_ murderer.

Ayako: L-liar!

Hideaki: Am I lying?

Ayako: _I-I can do it too, Hideaki!_

Ayako: You said that to _me!_

Kichiro: Er, I'm not really sure who to believe over here.

Ayako: Believe me! Hideaki is trying to convict himself to save me!

Hideaki: Let's flip that around. Isn't it you trying to save me?

Saya: How are we going to solve this? We seem to be stuck in a little rut over here.

Monokuma: Now, now, don't just go pointing your finger at yourself!

Monokuma: If you do, you'll just make this class trial lag on and on! It'll totally suck!

Suguru: S-so, they actually have to present evidence, proving that the other isn't the killer?

Kyouko: H-how does that even work?...

Hideaki: What do you mean? Isn't it clear that I'm the killer?

Ayako: Tell me just how you killed Kouichi then!

Hideaki: You really want me to spell it out to the others?

Saya: It's obvious how Kouichi was killed. We don't need a testimony about that.

Kichiro: The Monokuma File says that one of you two shot Kouichi, and he died.

Kyouko: So he died by a gunshot.

Rin: Ahaha! Ouch! Boom crackle tackle!

Suguru: S-so one of you two shot Kouichi? How are we going to prove who's right?

Ayako: I just have to ask one question.

Ayako: Hideaki, how many shots did you take?

Hideaki: One. I shot one bullet into Kouichi.

Ayako: _That's all I needed to hear._

Ayako: _I trapped Hideaki!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase one\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Hideaki: I shot **one** bullet into Kouichi. That is all.

Kyouko: W-why would you do that?  
Hideaki: He was trying to kill Ayako for supporting me. I regret to say that he fell into utter insanity.

Saya: The Monokuma File states that a bullet killed Kouichi.

Saya: Did **Hideaki fire the finishing shot?**

Hideaki: What do you mean?

Suguru: Yeah, I don't follow…

Rin: Was there perhaps more than one shot?! Ahahaha!

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_piece of ammo used: New Bullet Hole_]

Ayako: Hideaki! This is where I prove you wrong!

Ayako: You did NOT shoot the bullet that killed Kouichi. It was me who killed him.

Hideaki: Honestly Ayako… I expected better from you. You don't have any evidence of that at all.

Ayako: Oh, don't I?

Hideaki: Hmm?

Ayako: If you take a look at Kouichi's body again, you can see that there are **two** bullet holes that are present.

Hideaki: T-two?

Ayako: If you really killed Kouichi, where did the other bullet hole come from?

Hideaki: …Juvenile.

Ayako: Juvenile?

Hideaki: You see, you'd have to shoot the bullet post-mortem for an extra bullet hole like that.

Ayako: The others would have heard the other gun shot. It wouldn't have worked.

Hideaki: I see.

Hideaki: In that case, there is another flaw with your reasoning.

Ayako: And that is?

Hideaki: First off, there was only blood found in the area around the **first wound.**

Hideaki: Why is there no blood in the second gunshot?

Suguru: Maybe the blood mixed together or something?

Hideaki: Dry blood doesn't mix together, Suguru.

Hideaki: It has to be that Ayako is clearly lying.

Ayako: Hold on, then how do you explain the presence of the second bullet hole?

Hideaki: The second bullet hole?

Ayako: The second bullet hole didn't just come from the same bullet!

Ayako: _No, that's a lie._

Ayako: If you actually shot and killed Kouichi, that second bullet hole wouldn't be there.

Hideaki: But that's ridiculous. I was with you the whole time. You were nearly passed out from when Kouichi stabbed you to the hilt.

Ayako: You can't prove when I was stabbed!

Ayako: Here is how I say this whole murder happened.

Hideaki: Please enlighten me.

Ayako: Kouichi was attacking you, and you managed to snatch the gun out of his hands.

Hideaki: I'm listening.

Ayako: You shot him once, but something made you drop the gun out of _your_ hands.

Ayako: After that, Kouichi threatened to kill you with his katana.

Ayako: I got the gun, and shot you, but before Kouichi died…

Ayako: He stabbed me to the hilt in anger.

Saya: That would explain certain things.

Saya: When we found you and Hideaki together, he was holding you in his arms.

Saya: Meaning that in terms of sequence of events, Ayako's story adds up.

Hideaki: …

Ayako: _Did I get to him? Did I win?_

Hideaki: Interesting line of reasoning…

Hideaki: But I'm sorry, I'm not stopping there.

Ayako: Huh?

Hideaki: There is yet more evidence that you could not have fired that shot.

Ayako: What? More evidence?

Hideaki: It has to do with when a gun is fired.

Hideaki: Assuming that you were telling the truth, you'd be near point-blank to Kouichi, correct?

Ayako: W-would I be?

Hideaki: I drop the gun next to Kouichi, and he attacks me with his katana.

Hideaki: That would suggest that the gun is by his feet.

Hideaki: I don't think you would run away to the other side of the room to shoot and kill Kouichi, would you?

Ayako: What do you mean?

Hideaki: You wouldn't hesitate, and you'd simply kill him as he is, right in front of you.

Ayako: Y-yeah! Sure!

Hideaki: Yet, there is certain evidence that deems that impossible.

Hideaki: It's not physical evidence, but I'm sure you can figure out what it is, can't you Ayako?

Ayako: _Figure out why it's impossible for me to have shot Kouichi?_

Ayako: _I've read a lot of mystery novels… I have a feeling I know what Hideaki is talking about._

Ayako: _But it's right at the tip of my toungue…_

* * *

**/=/=/phase two\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**MARKINGS**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: B-ballistic markings?

Hideaki: Correct.

Hideaki: Should you have attacked Kouichi up close like you should have…

Hideaki: There would be marks like smoke on his skin that shows that it happened.

Ayako: W-what if I cleaned it up?

Hideaki: What would you have cleaned it up with?

Hideaki: We were nearly in the dead center of the catacombs.

Hideaki: Your shirt? It would still be dirty with stains.

Rin: Oho? But the blood was cleaned up from the second shot too, right?!

Ayako: T-that's right!

Ayako: Me cleaning up the area around where the second bullet hole was…

Ayako: It explains how it is possible for there not to be blood around the second bullet hole as well.

Hideaki: Wouldn't you have cleaned up the whole body then?

Ayako: There would have been no need for that!

Ayako: The Monokuma File states that Kouichi died from a gunshot! Cleaning up all the blood would mean nothing!

Ayako: Let's assume that I did clean up the area around the second bullet hole.

Ayako: All the blood will be surrounding it as well.

Ayako: I clean that up with a rag or something that I had with me.

Ayako: The blood is gone, and so are the markings.

Suguru: I-is it possible to clean ballistic markings?

Hideaki: Never mind that. There's something more important at hand here with Ayako's reasoning.

Ayako: What is that?

Hideaki: By testifying against all this, you are getting way too ahead of yourself.

Ayako: What? What do you mean?

Hideaki: Are you not trying to convict yourself? Why does it seem like that you are trying to convict me now?

Ayako: T-tch!

Hideaki: By admitting that you had cleaned up the blood… you would have eliminated all possible evidence that you were actually the killer of Kouichi.

Hideaki: You claimed to me several times that you were going to try and convict yourself.

Hideaki: I don't follow why exactly you'd make it sound like you are trying to convict me now…

Hideaki: Unless you really _aren't _the murderer of Kouichi Akazawa!

Ayako: …

Hideaki: Do you have anything else to say at this point?

Monokuma: Huh? That was surprisingly fast.

Monokuma: I guess I really didn't give you guys enough time to investigate, huh?

Ayako: _Think Ayako! At this rate, Hideaki will –_

Hideaki: Ayako, why are you doing this?

Ayako: H-huh?

Hideaki: By trying to convict yourself, you are also trying to pinpoint the incorrect villain.

Hideaki: In short, wouldn't that mean everyone here would die except for me?

Suguru: E-eh?!

Kichiro: S-stupid. Ayako wouldn't –

Hideaki: Would you like to bet on that?

Kichiro: H-huh?

Hideaki: If we do ballot time right now… and you guys vote for me as the villain…

Hideaki: I will surely be announced as the killer.

Hideaki: If you vote for Ayako, then you guys would have voted for the wrong person.

Hideaki: In short, you would have all proved to yourselves that Ayako would have intended to kill you guys just to save me.

Ayako: …

Hideaki: I find that selfish.

Ayako: …

Ayako: _I've came too far. I don't really care what you think by now. As long as I can keep you alive!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase three\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

_Ayako vs. Hideaki!_

Hideaki: I am the murderer!

Hideaki: Ayako is innocent. In a way.

Hideaki: Kill me instead! Take my life!

Hideaki: It is not Ayako you wish to vote for.

Hideaki: I am telling you guys the truth.

Hideaki: Stop being fools.

Hideaki: Face the facts already.

Hideaki: Almost there.

Hideaki: **Well Ayako? Do you have anything else to say?**

_Piece of ammo used: New Bullet Hole_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: H-hold on.

Ayako: I still want an answer for that second bullet hole.

Ayako: _Hopefully this can buy me enough time to think of something._

Hideaki: What about the second bullet hole?

Ayako: All this time, we were suggesting that I did shoot Kouichi at point-blank range.

Ayako: But what if I didn't?

Ayako: Then Hideaki's reasoning would all be conjecture!

Hideaki: So you've resorted to the grabbing of straws?

Hideaki: Is that how you are going to do it?

Ayako: If it means that I'll be able to convict myself…

Ayako: Because I am the one who truly committed the murder!

Monokuma: Hold on!

Ayako: What?

Hideaki: Huh?

Monokuma: Don't talk for a second! Don't do anything!

Ayako: _W-what's going on?_

Monokuma: …

Monokuma: I'm going to be right back guys! For now, please don't make any sudden movements!

Monokuma: Or you could. I was just sounding mysterious.

Monokuma: BRB!

[_Monokuma disappeared, leaving the others students to question why._]

Suguru: W-why would he leave in the middle of the trial?

Kyouko: Does he have something important to attend to?

Kichiro: Tch. I doubt in the middle of a class trial.

Rin: Right! Aha! Insane! I don't know where I am anymore!

[_Monokuma reappears a few moments later._]

Monokuma: Sorry I was gone, you guys! Let's continue this trial!

Hideaki: Why did you have to suddenly leave?

Monokuma: Oho?

Monokuma: No, that's not important right now!

Monokuma: This is the class trial for Kouichi! Not about what I did last time I saw you!

Monokuma: In addition to that, Ayako! Hideaki! C'mon!

Ayako: What?

Monokuma: You guys aren't going to get anywhere by talking about Kouichi's areas of wounds!

Ayako: Then what should we talk about? There's no more evidence about Kouichi! Besides, you barely gave us enough time!

Monokuma: Fine, fair enough. I'll present a certain piece of evidence than.

Saya: New evidence? Can you do that?

Suguru: Isn't that a little unfair?

Suguru: N-not that I care!

Monokuma: No, no, this isn't _definitive_ evidence. It's the kind of evidence that you investigate and talk about to reach a certain conclusion.

Monokuma: You probably won't get anything major out of just looking at this ammunition!

Ayako: Then show it to us already.

Ayako: _If I can take this piece of evidence and use it against Hideaki…_

Monokuma: Yes ma'am!

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

17: Katana Sword: A sword plunged into Ayako by Kouichi. There is blood to the hilt.

Ayako: T-the katana?

Ayako: _I completely forgot about that! I put it behind Kouichi's body!_

Hideaki: What does the katana have to do with anything involving that killed Kouichi?

Hideaki: The reason why this katana was used is absolutely obvious.

Ayako: Y-yeah.

Monokuma: That's what you're supposed to talk about, you dumbasses!

Saya: Monokuma is saying that this katana has something to do with finding out about who killed Kouichi.

Ayako: I really doubt that though.

Ayako: That sword was used to impale me. We all know that.

Kichiro: Y-you sure?

Ayako: What do you mean I'm sure?

Kyouko: How do we know that Kouichi stabbed you?

Saya: What a ridiculous question…

Kyouko: Hey! They keep questioning things! It isn't my fault to be paranoid!

Rin: Indeed! It is the fault of your tiny ass brain!

Kyouko: I'm smarter than you!

Rin: I'm an honors student, you bitch!

Ayako: _Whatever… this is useless._

Ayako: _We're just wasting time here!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase four\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Kyouko: What if the katana wasn't **used to stab Ayako?**

Saya: If it is not, pray tell me why it was used?

Kyouko: W-well I don't know…

Kyouko: But if it wasn't used to stab Ayako, maybe one of you two **used it to kill Kouichi?**

Kichiro: I-if that's so…

Kichiro: Then it's possible to determine who the murderer is?

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_Piece of ammo used: Monokuma File 7_]

Ayako: No, it's impossible for one of us to have used the katana to kill Kouichi.

Kyouko: Eh? Why?

Hideaki: The Monokuma File clearly states that he died from a gunshot.

Saya: In addition to that, there were no wounds at all that suggested he was stabbed in any way.

Saya: Not to mention the two gun shots.

Kyouko: S-so, how are we going to tell who killed Kouichi?!

Saya: That was what we were trying to find out.

Saya: More importantly, what does the katana have to do with this case?

Ayako: _Saya is right. I've looked at the sword. There's nothing of importance there._

Monokuma: *yawn*

Saya: Ayako, you were stabbed by this sword, correct?

Ayako: Yes… after I shot Kouichi.

Hideaki: Actually, before _I _shot Kouichi.

Saya: No matter who shot Kouichi, there has to be something about this sword.

Saya: There's no reason Monokuma would present this to us if it didn't have anything to do with this case.

Kichiro: Aight… so give us a hint, Monokuma!

Monokuma: …

Kichiro: C'mon already! We aren't going too –

Monokuma: Hey, hey. This is boring.

Monokuma: Let's talk about something more fun.

Monokuma: What do you guys think about Rin?

Rin: Yahoo? Me?

Monokuma: Yes, you!

Monokuma: Why do you think you're looser than a bent bolt?

Rin: Whaddya mean, you crazy ass bear?!

Monokuma: Hey, Kichiro. Are you okay?

Kichiro: W-what?

Monokuma: I don't think you mourned about Miyu in a while.

Monokuma: Did you forget about her?

Kichiro: H-huh?

Hideaki: Relax. He's just trying to get under our skin.

Kichiro: Y-yeah…

Rin: He said I was crazy for a reason?

Rin: Ahaha! Let's ignore that shit for now!

Ayako: Monokuma, what was the purpose of that?

Monokuma: You guys are getting off topic.

Monokuma: So I guess I should too, right?

Monokuma: In reality though, you guys should really discuss Kouichi's murder.

Monokuma: You didn't get anywhere at all.

Kichiro: W-we didn't find out anything.

Monokuma: Exactly.

Suguru: How are we going to when you don't give us any leads?

Monokuma: You are really a bunch of dumbasses, aren't ya?

Monokuma: What you guys are saying, "I don't know…"

Monokuma: That will not fly here at all!

Kichiro: What do you mean it won't fly here?

Kyouko: If you won't give us any hints at all, we won't be able to solve this case!

Saya: If we ask Ayako herself…

Saya: All she can tell us is that she was stabbed by the katana.

Saya: There's nothing important about that sword at all!

Monokuma: Really? You're going to say that?

Monokuma: No, no, no! That won't work here at all!

Monokuma: I mean…

Monokuma: This is **class trial,** is it not?

* * *

**/=/=/phase five\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Monokuma: What do you think about all of this?

Monokuma: **C'mon! Hurry up!**

Monokuma: **What do you think the sword has to do with the murder?**

Kichiro: We should go through what was on that sword.

Saya: **This kind of katana sword is legendary, used by the most powerful samurais.**

Hideaki: **Ayako was stabbed to the hilt by this weapon. **

Saya: **Blood is spread across all over the sword.**

Suguru: **And it looks like that there is some blood on the hilt as well.**

* * *

**BREAK!**

[_Piece of ammo used: the phrase "…and it looks like that there is some blood on the hilt as well."_]

Ayako: Hideaki, let me ask you a question before I present evidence.

Ayako: How exactly do you remember me getting stabbed by Kouichi?

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: Alright.

Hideaki: Kouichi was attempting to kill me in result of your support of who he thought to be the puppetmaster.

Hideaki: He went insane, and he was using the katana to attempt to kill me.

Saya: At this point, it's impossible for any blood to be on the hilt?

Hideaki: What do you mean?

Hideaki: Blood was never on the hilt.

Ayako: …

Ayako: Y-you're wrong.

Hideaki: Huh?

Ayako: Why is there blood on the hilt? That is the question, right?

Hideaki: Kouichi stabbed you with the sword to the hilt. There couldn't be any blood on top of it though.

Ayako: And you would have shot Kouichi from the distance, right?

Ayako: I mean, there aren't any ballistic markings either!

Saya: Since there is no ballistic markings, Hideaki would have had to shot Kouichi by the distance.

Suguru: And then he would have taken out the sword blood-free?

Saya: So what is your story, Ayako?

Saya: Are you saying that there was blood on the hilt because you killed Kouichi?

Saya: If so, why?

Ayako: …

Ayako: _This is it._

Ayako: _This is when I end this case. And save Hideaki…_

* * *

**/=/=/phase six\=\=\ **

**(yes this counts as a phase)**

_**Climax Logic – Everything is Falling into Place!**_

Ayako: This case starts back at the last class trial. You all pinpointed Hideaki as the puppetmaster, even though he wasn't. He took me, but from what I've heard, his execution was to be from you guys, and he even provided you all with weapons. In the end, Kouichi went insane, and tried to kill me too. However, this is where my story and Hideaki's story splits. I took the gun and shot Kouichi point-blank. I cleaned up the blood, and got some on my hands. It was point-blank, meaning that there would have been some things I'd need to clean up. That was what we thought to be the second gun wound.

Saya: So the second gun wound was actually the first one?

Ayako: Correct. Anyways, then Kouichi stabbed me with the katana. With my strength, I shot him back, meaning the first gun wound was actually the second. Now we are at the trial, and Hideaki is trying to protect me from execution.

Ayako: Isn't that right, Hideaki?

* * *

**BREAK!**

Hideaki: So is that your story?

Hideaki: You changed your entire story just now!

Saya: She told it in a different way, didn't she?

Monokuma: And there's evidence to show that Ayako is the puppetmaster too!

Monokuma: So let's vote!

Ayako: _…_

Ayako: _Why is Monokuma pushing to get me convicted?_

Ayako: _Does he have a plan of some sort?_

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: No.

Ayako: Hideaki, please, stop it! I can face my execution!

Ayako: I have to repent for my crime!

Hideaki: Quit acting! You aren't helping anybody by faking it!

Saya: Hideaki…

Hideaki: I won't go with this, Ayako!

Hideaki: If I keep saying I'm the murderer, then we are at a stalemate.

Monokuma: Wrong! Its majority rules!

Monokuma: If a majority of you guys find Ayako to be the villain…

Monokuma: Then she is **punished!**

Ayako: …

Ayako: _I'm… going to save Hideaki._

Ayako: _And he's going to take down the puppetmaster._

Hideaki: You're filled with bullshit right now, Ayako!

Hideaki: I-I can't watch you die!

Hideaki: I can't watch any of you die!

Saya: I don't know who to vote for right now.

Suguru: I-I'm leaning towards… no, I don't want to say it.

Suguru: I don't want anyone to be the murderer anymore!

Kichiro: Oi! Monokuma! Are you sure that one of us actually killed Kouichi?!

Monokuma: As sure as I am sure that my buns are sexy beasts!

Rin: What do you mean by your buns? Eww! Bear-ass!

Rin: But hmm… who to vote for? Who to vote for?

Rin: I might be crazy but I ain't suicidal!

Kyouko: I-I don't have an app for this!

Hideaki: Please Ayako! Stop this!

Ayako: Put your trust in me, Hideaki.

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: No.

Hideaki: Not this time.

Ayako: …

Ayako: _I see._

Ayako: _So our last battle comes now._

Ayako: Hideaki…

Ayako: I like you so much.

Hideaki: …

Ayako: So I'm going to save you.

Ayako: That's why I killed Kouichi.

Hideaki: Tch!

Hideaki: You didn't kill Kouichi!

Hideaki: Why are you doing this?

Ayako: _Why am I doing this?_

Ayako: _Why do I have to do this?_

Ayako: _It's because I remember everything about you, Hideaki._

Ayako: _I walked into the cafeteria on the first day of this hell. You were in the corner, and you were so stoic and alone. Yet, now, you are so much more open. To me and to everyone else._

Ayako: _You're smarter than most of us._

Ayako: _You deserve to live! Everyone went against you! Why should they deserve to live and you die?_

Ayako: _Whether you like it or not…_

Ayako: _I'm going to be executed!_

Ayako: _You are going to be saved!_

Ayako: _That's what I decided a long time ago!_

**:::/NEW AMMO))**

18: Ayako: Ayako is the murderer of Kouichi Akazawa! She killed Kouichi Akazawa!

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: _I remember the first day._

Hideaki: _You came to me, when I was trying to avoid everyone else. You made me such a rounded person during this. I didn't think I'd feel anything when I agreed to work with Monokuma. Yet you changed my opinions. And you made me happier…_

Hideaki: _I killed Kouichi. That's just something you have to except!_

Hideaki: _Ayako… you're the best thing that ever happened to me._

Hideaki: _So I'll save you._

Hideaki: _No, I won't save you. You aren't going to be "saved." You never had to be._

Hideaki: _I'm going to execute myself!_

Hideaki: _Because I killed Kouichi!_

Hideaki: _You're smarter than me. _

Hideaki: _That's what I decided a long time ago!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase seven\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

_Ayako vs. Hideaki_

_Hideaki vs. Ayako_

Ayako: I'm the killer! =====/===== Hideaki: I'm the killer!

Ayako: You didn't kill Kouichi! =====/==== Hideaki: You didn't kill Kouichi!

Ayako: Stop! I'm the one who killed Kouichi! ====/==== Hideaki: Stop! I'm the one who killed Kouichi!

Ayako: Will you quit it? ===/==== Hideaki: Will you quit it!  
Ayako: I won't let you die! ==/==== Hideaki: I won't let you die!

Ayako: _Crap! I'm losing!_

Ayako: Please! Stop it! =/==== Hideaki: I'm going to save you.

Ayako: No, **there was the second bullet hole!** =/=== Hideaki: Unrelated!

Ayako: **There was the katana!** =/== Hideaki: Unrelated as well!

Ayako: **I want to save you!** =/= Hideaki: I want to save you!

Hideaki: **You did not kill Kouichi Akazawa! I killed Kouichi Akazawa! You are lying! And I will be executed!**

_Piece of ammo used: Ayako_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: You're wrong! And you've been wrong!

Ayako: So put your doubt in me already!

Ayako: I killed Kouichi Akazawa!

Hideaki: N...ngh!

Monokuma: Is it time to vote for who the killer is?

Monokuma: Upupupu! I'm bubbling with excitement!

Monokuma: Who are you all going to vote for?

Monokuma: Is it Ayako, our Super Highschool Level Pianist?

Monokuma: Or is it Hideaki, or Super Highschool Level Multi-Talent!

Monokuma: Ahaha! I'm so excited to find out!

[_Monokuma brings out a slot machine, and places it on the table in front of him. He turns the lever, and three faces begin to surface… Row one… Ayako's face. Row two… Ayako's face. Row three… Ayako's face. The word "GUILTY" appears on the slot machine, and Monokuma puts the slot machine away, and begins to laugh maniacally._]

Monokuma: You guys are right!

Ayako: …What?

Hideaki: …N…n…ngh!

Hideaki: No!

Hideaki: Ayako! Y-you aren't going to die!

Monokuma: Yup! Ayako Kawasumi is the murderer of Kouichi Akazawa!

Monokuma: How did a contract killer get killed by an ordinary pianist? Who knows!

Saya: Ayako…

Suguru: I'm sorry…

Kichiro: N…ngh.

Rin: Sheee….

Kyouko: U….ugh.

Hideaki: …

Hideaki: P-please!

Hideaki: Don't die!

Hideaki: I can't watch you die in front of me!

Ayako: That's a sudden reaction… haha…

Hideaki: What?!

Ayako: You were so confident before… but now you're on the verge of tears.

Hideaki: …Ngh!

Hideaki: This doesn't make sense though! You aren't the killer!

Hideaki: Monokuma?! What are you planning?!

Monokuma: What? Ayako killed Kouichi!

Ayako: _I don't get it either…_

Ayako: _But this means the others get to live._

Ayako: _Take down… the puppetmaster for me._

Hideaki: P-please don't leave me!

Hideaki: I was guided by you this whole time!

Hideaki: You shaped me!

Hideaki: You can't leave now!

Ayako: …

Ayako: _I did it._

Ayako: _Now Hideaki can live…_

Ayako: _And meet new people…_

Ayako: _And live a happy life…_

Ayako: _And take down the puppetmaster…_

Ayako: I-I'm sorry, Hideaki. It's for the best though.

Hideaki: T…

Hideaki: The best for you?

Hideaki: W-what about the rest of us?

Ayako: …

Ayako: Isn't it time for my punishment, Monokuma?

Monokuma: …

Monokuma: Yuup!

Ayako: Thank you…

Hideaki: No! Stop!

Ayako: _Good-bye everyone._

Ayako: _Punishment time…_

[_Monokuma takes out a gavel, and slams a button in front of him._]

…

…

…

Ayako: Huh?

…

…

…

Ayako: Why aren't you… taking me to my execution?  
…

…

…

Ayako: Monokuma?

..

…

..

Monokuma: What?

Monokuma: Can't you have your execution here?

Ayako: W..what?

Hideaki: What is this?!

Hideaki: Y-you're going to kill her right in front of me?!

Monokuma: It's a matter of time!

Monokuma: I don't have the time to send her off on a robot unicorn attack!

Monokuma: I'm going to execute her right now!

Monokuma: A quick, painless death!

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: _W-what is Monokuma doing?_

[_Monokuma pulls out a crossbow, aims it at Ayako, and winks. Hideaki looks at Ayako, tears streaming out of his face, and Ayako closes her eyes._]

_This reminds me of a poem Hideaki told me once in our free time…_

_But I can't remember it._

_I don't know why. Is it that it's because this is the last time I'll see him?_

_Good-bye, Hideaki._

_I hope… you take down…_

_The puppetmaster._

_Live a happy life…_

…_without me._

Monokuma: Bye, bye!

…

…

_What?  
Why aren't I dying?_

…

…

_I should be executed right now._

_What's Monokuma doing?_

…

…

_I can hear gasps and small screams._

"_n…NGH!...NGH!"_

…

_W-who is that?_

_That voice…_

_It's been awhile. Why hasn't Monokuma shot me?_

[_Ayako opens her eyes… looks in front of her… and sees a boy. A boy with blonde hair. A wicked sweet tooth. Wearing a suit and friendly looking sweater. An arrow is stuck in his shoulder. And the execution is done._]

Ayako: H-Hideaki!

Hideaki: T-this is nothing. It's o-only an arrow…

Monokuma: …

Ayako: B-but! Why? He's just going to kill me again!

Monokuma: …

Ayako: Right, Monokuma?

Monokuma: …

Monokuma: Upupupu…

Ayako: …Monokuma?

Hideaki: N…ngh. I-I have a headache.

Monokuma: That headache…

Monokuma: I wonder what it will turn into soon?

Ayako: H-huh?

Monokuma: If you want to know… that arrow.

Monokuma: It was stuck with **poison.**

Saya: P-poison?

Suguru: S-so Hideaki is going to die?!

Ayako: N-no! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Monokuma: It's a special poison!

Monokuma: I call it the Monomono Poison! It'll kill in like, an hour or so!

Hideaki: W-what?

Hideaki: J-just don't…

Ayako: Hideaki!

Ayako: You're… you're… you… y…

_This doesn't make sense!_

_I was supposed to save __**you!**_

Ayako: Hideaki! Y-you need water! Something! Medicine!

_Am I crying?_

_I can't tell._

Ayako: Hideaki!

Hideaki: A-Ayako?

Monokuma: Upupu!

Monokuma: Ahaha!

Monokuma: My plan!

Ayako: Your plan?!

Monokuma: It's fallen into place perfectly!

Monokuma: And now, I have **no reason to hide myself anymore!**

Ayako: Hide yourself?!

Ayako: Y-you mean…

Ayako: You're going to reveal yourself now?

Saya: Who is it?! Is it one of us?

Monokuma: Oh Saya. So straight to the point. You aren't even concerned about Hideaki!

Suguru: W-who is the puppetmaster?!

Monokuma: Saya!

Saya: What?!

Monokuma: Is not the puppetmaster!

Rin: Aha! The hell?!

Monokuma: Rin!

Monokuma: Is not the puppetmaster!

Ayako: **Who the fuck is it?!**

Hideaki: Y-you'll pay for this… Monokuma!

Kichiro: Tell us already!

Monokuma: …

Kyouko: It's one of us, isn't it?!

Monokuma: …

Rin: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO?

Monokuma: Upu…

Suguru: I-is it Saya?!

Saya: H-he already said it wasn't me…

Monokuma: Upupu…

Ayako: T…

Ayako: Tell us already!

Ayako: Which one of us is the puppetmaster?!

Monokuma: …

Monokuma: Don't be disappointed.

Monokuma: It isn't any of you.

Saya: …What?

Monokuma: I know! How misleading, huh?

Monokuma: You would think that one of you all is the one who put all of this together!

Monokuma: Sorry you guys! It's not like that!

Kichiro: H…huh?

Monokuma: Alright! Well, now that my biggest enemy is now destroyed…

Hideaki: I was… your biggest… enemy?

Monokuma: I see no reason why I can't reveal myself!

Monokuma: Besides! You all aren't going to kill each other anymore, right?!

[_A purple fog surrounds Monokuma, and soon dissipates, revealing a man with black framed glasses. He looks like a high school student, and he has very small moles spread across his face. With brown hair, and a black jacket, the puppetmaster reveals himself._]

?: Ho? Are you disappointed?

?: You don't know me at all, do you?

?: So sorry that you thought I was giving you hints.

?: Even to my **readers…** you were all making wild guesses, weren't you?

?: Alas, none of you were correct. My apologies for misleading you down this path, and I hope you are disappointed by this outcome.

Ayako: _This is the puppetmaster?!_

?: Yes, while you did fail in figuring out my identity, it honestly doesn't matter much.

?: Allow me to introduce myself.

?: My name is **Yukio Enoshima.**

Yukio: Nice to meet you all…

Yukio: I am…

Yukio: The…

Yukio: Big…

Yukio: Bad…!

Yukio: Whoops, that was off character.

Yukio: I can't be doing that.

Ayako: _This… this is really…_

Yukio: I am the puppetmaster. How are you all doing?

_**Continued in Chapter 8: Class Trial Part II**_

* * *

**===MONOKUMA THEATRE===**

#24

Monokuma: The author would like to thank you for your continued support.

Monokuma: Now we are really reaching the last stretches of this story.

Yukio: So please do not feel disappointed that you were all blatantly incorrect.

Yukio: It's nothing to be ashamed about.

Monokuma: That's right!

Monokuma: What the fuck though?

Yukio: Yes?

Monokuma: How am I talking when you aren't controlling me?

Yukio: My, my, what a question.


	28. Chapter 8: Class Trial: Part II

Yukio: So? Are you disappointed?

Suguru: Eh? Disappointed in what?

Yukio: I'm not a very befitting person to hold the role of the puppetmaster, am I?

Yukio: Well, naturally I am… I am an Enoshima.

Yukio: Or maybe I'm not…

Yukio: Or maybe I am…

Ayako: Y…Yukio… Enoshima?

Saya: E-Enoshima?

Yukio: Oh yes, Hideaki, please return to your seat.

Hideaki: B-but –

Yukio: Yes, yes. You've been spiked with a deadly poison with unexpected results on whether or not you will die from it or not.

Yukio: But that is not an acceptable excuse not to participate in a class trial.

Kichiro: Huh? Then what **is?**

Yukio: In extreme circumstances, **death.**

Kichiro: D-death?

Yukio: And an extreme circumstance is the only circumstance to not participate in a class trial.

Yukio: In short, if any of you do not wish to continue, you may kill yourself right now.

Saya: T-the puppetmaster is an Enoshima?

Ayako: Enoshima… a famous family of successful and wealthy players.

Yukio: Yes. My little sister Junko… Mukuro… my mother Asuna… my father Seiyu…

Yukio: We are all very successful.

Saya: I-I can't believe it! I even worked with **Junko** herself in a movie!

Yukio: In addition to also being very successful, we are also constantly submitted into heavy moments of **despair.**

Saya: Despair?

Kyouko: What do you mean by despair?...

Yukio: Ah yes. You guys have sponge brains. I seem to have forgotten.

Yukio: By despair… I simply mean we have no hope.

Yukio: That has always been the Enoshima way. It's not just the Enoshima way.

Ayako: You mean you aren't the only people constantly subjected to despair?

Yukio: What an idiotic question.

Yukio: Of course I'm not.

Yukio: Have you ever been to a very busy urban street in the middle of the city?

Yukio: Have you seen the families outside, struggling to live and survive?

Yukio: It is not just we who are struggling to despair.

Yukio: Or maybe we are…

Yukio: Or maybe we aren't…

Yukio: So stop talking to me like that!

Yukio: Whoops. That wasn't in character of me. I apologize.

Ayako: _J-just what kind of guy is he?_

Yukio: In fact, we Enoshima's have a name to describe such people that despair as ourselves.

Yukio: You can say it's been some sort of underground disease that has been laying its legs out and beginning to despair.

Hideaki: Hold on a minute… w-while this is very useful information… *cough*

Hideaki: What is the meaning of this?

Yukio: The meaning of what, exactly?

Hideaki: T-this is off character for the puppetmaster.

Yukio: Whoops. I did not mean to be. I apologize.

Hideaki: Y-you didn't properly execute Ayako.

Hideaki: Instead you fished her out with a crossbow and I got in the way.

Yukio: Yes… indeed.

Yukio: It was in fact, part of an elaborate plan.

Yukio: Or was it elaborate?

Yukio: Never mind, I don't suppose it was elaborate at all.

Hideaki: And this plan was?

Yukio: You see Hideaki, I could say that you were my biggest enemy at the trial right now.

Hideaki: I was?

Yukio: Yes.

Yukio: Or were you?

Hideaki: Get to the point!

Yukio: I needed a way to fish out and kill you. I was honestly surprised when you escaped your first execution.

Yukio: I had honestly thought I had killed you that time. It wasn't an act.

Ayako: _Yeah… I remember how he was acting as Monokuma. He was confident Hideaki was dead._

Yukio: You see, after that, I realized that your multi-talents made it rather hard to get to you.

Yukio: As a Super Highschool Level Spy, I had doubts that I'd be able to execute you.

Hideaki: You mean you thought that I'd be able to escape again?

Yukio: Yes.

Yukio: Let me clear something up while I'm at it. Ayako was _not_ the killer of Kouichi.

Saya: W-what?

Suguru: Then why did you -?!

Yukio: Relax. Let me talk about this.

Yukio: You see… the class trial where you were supposed to find out my identity?

Yukio: The pieces of evidence Saya found were planted by _me._

Saya: A-are you kidding me?!

Yukio: They were designed to cast suspicion upon Hideaki and his role as the puppetmaster.

Yukio: Unfortunately, I cannot say that it worked for the better.

Saya: Give me a break!

Ayako: You asshole! You made Hideaki seem like the puppetmaster!

Yukio: Mm, yes. I take full responsibility.

Yukio: It does not do me proud to lie. I am a man of my words most of the time, I assure you.

Yukio: However, it was always the Enoshima belief that a white lie is sometimes necessary to reach a certain point.

Yukio: My point, or "goal," shall we say it, was to kill Hideaki, who was in fact my greatest enemy.

Hideaki: But why?

Yukio: You mean you don't remember?

Hideaki: N…ngh!

Yukio: That's only natural though. You _couldn't_ remember anyways.

Hideaki: What was that?

Yukio: Moving on…

Hideaki: H-hold on!

Yukio: No.

Hideaki: …

Ayako: _H-he shut Hideaki up… That's impressive…_

Yukio: As I said before, I was worried that Hideaki would have been able to escape if I merely sent him off on an execution.

Yukio: Every execution has a way to escape.

Yukio: In Aaron's execution… brute force could have broken that glass.

Yukio: In Noburu's execution… he could have untied the rope, even while being pelted by paintballs.

Yukio: In Setsuna's execution, it is the same scenario.

Yukio: Et cetera, et cetera.

Hideaki: But my talent as a spy..?

Yukio: Yes. That's how you managed to survive the flames, isn't it?

Saya: T-that reminds me… how _did_ you survive your execution?

Hideaki: I don't think that's… important right now… *cough*

Hideaki: But it wasn't anything extraordinary. I just simply missed the flames.

Suguru: That's why you're a little burned?

Roger: *growl*

Yukio: Moving onwards… I then had a plan.

Yukio: Was it a good plan? Was it a bad one?

Yukio: I don't exactly know…

Ayako: Shut up already and get on with it!

Yukio: Relax.

Yukio: My plan was to get something precious to Hideaki, and kill him for it.

Ayako: H-huh?

Ayako: _I'm "precious" to Hideaki?_

Hideaki: T-tch!

Yukio: While Hideaki was working as my right eye as a mole serving me, he would give me reports about everyone else except Ayako.

Yukio: Naturally, I caught onto that, and while I investigated the behavior between the two of you, I saw that you two were gradually growing closer together.

Hideaki: G-get to the goddamn point!

Yukio: Interruptions like that unfortunately only make my explanations longer.

Yukio: Or does it..?

Ayako: We get it already!

Yukio: Shut up, **bitch!**

Ayako: Uhh!

Yukio: Excuse me. That was off character. I apologize.

Kichiro: I-is this guy for real, or is he just acting like that?

Yukio: Now if I may explain again with fewer interruptions, I'd appreciate it.

Yukio: Ayako, you were a precious item to Hideaki.

Ayako: …I was?

Saya: What do you mean, "I was?" Wasn't that completely obvious?

Kyouko: I-I wouldn't say, "item," though, Mr. Puppetmaster…

Yukio: You are correct. Bad word choice in my part.

Yukio: I am gravely apologetic.

Yukio: Anyways…

Yukio: …

Ayako: …What?

Yukio: I was waiting for an interruption.

Ayako: Huh?!

Yukio: Moving on.

Yukio: Ayako was very important to Hideaki. Oh, how should I say this…

Yukio: Hideaki "wants to get his kink on with Ayako," in the words of Monokuma.

Ayako: I-if you say it like that..!

Hideaki: …

Yukio: Hideaki fell in love with Ayako after she came to him.

Yukio: Hideaki wanted to protect Ayako more than anything as Ayako allowed him to be around her like a real person. Not some stoic anti-social freak.

Yukio: And while that is very sweet...

Yukio: **It also fucking disgusts me! Hi-yah!**

Ayako: Huh?

Yukio: Excuse me for going off topic again. Let's move on.

Ayako: _Q-quit going off-topic then!_

Yukio: I cannot say exactly whether or not Ayako returns those feelings to Hideaki. I can't imagine she doesn't though, as she seems to openly have feelings for him as well.

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Do I?_

Ayako: _I never thought about that... all I thought about was how I wanted to protect Hideaki as a friend._

Ayako: _But do I "like him" more than that?_

Yukio: You seem troubled, Ayako. Is something the matter?

Ayako: O-oh, no!

Ayako: _Wait! Why are you being so polite to the puppetmaster?!_

Ayako: **Fuck no!**

Hideaki: Why is it taking so long to explain this to us?!

Hideaki: Why can't you talk about the plan?

Yukio: I am talking about the plan right now as we speak. However, I felt it was appropriate to talk about these prerequisites for the plan.

Yukio: Anyways... for the very **fucking last time!**

Yukio: Whoops. I –

Suguru: Went off character! We get it!

Yukio: My, my? Aren't you feisty?

Yukio: Yes. Ayako was heavily important to Hideaki.

Yukio: I knew that the one way I could possibly kill Hideaki... is to take something important away from him.

Hideaki: Huh?

Ayako: T-take something away?

Yukio: I have to admit. I was a little surprised to see you jump in front of my arrow. Not saying I'm disappointed though...

Hideaki: You bastard..!

Yukio: Normally, what I expected to happen is that Hideaki would have done something along the lines of suicide.

Yukio: I knew Hideaki's past, and I can tell you that if Ayako was killed by me, he would have injured himself in some way.

Saya: D-do you think that Ayako really is _that_ important to Hideaki..?

Yukio: I believe so. I think you should believe so too.

Yukio: However, that is not my judgment, nor is it an important one if I messed up.

Ayako: Y-you mean if your plan failed and I actually was killed for no reason?

Yukio: Yes, indeed. If you died... well, you'd just be another unimportant character.

Ayako: A... character?

Ayako: ...What is this to you?

Yukio: Hmm? What's what to me?

Ayako: This... this coliseum.

Ayako: This taking of people's _lives._

Ayako: Are you really just treating it like a game?!

Yukio: Of course I am.

Yukio: As I said, I am constantly subjected into oodles and oodles of despair.

Yukio: Hmm... oodles. That doesn't sound like something I'd normally say.

Kichiro: The hell does despair have to do with all of this?

Yukio: You do not know my goals yet. All you know, or all that you think you know, is that I am some sarcastic human being that locked you all up here for shits and giggles.

Yukio: But there's a reason that I locked you up in this so called hell hole.

Yukio: No, there's a reason that _we _locked you up.

Ayako: We? So there's more than one person?  
Yukio: Indeed there is.

Yukio: And it's rather shameful too that my own family doesn't think that I can do this myself.

Yukio: You know, I've always hated my family.

Yukio: I wonder what it's like not to be **forced into despair?**

Ayako: You were forced into despair

Yukio: Never mind that. It's not important. I'd rather discuss something else anyways.

Ayako: What else is there to talk about..? What are we going to do now?

Yukio: Are you perhaps forgetting the second part of this trial? It wasn't just to finger out who killed Kouichi, which by the way, _was _Hideaki.

Kichiro: S-so, Ayako tried to kill us?

Yukio: I wouldn't say she tried to kill you.

Yukio: She just found Hideaki's life to be more important than yours.

Kichiro: H...huh?!

Kichiro: B-but...

Suguru: She's not the kind of person like that!

Roger: Bark! Bark!

Yukio: Ho? It looks like even the dog agrees with you.

Yukio: Unfortunately this is the sad reality you guys must accept.

Saya: Ayako... is this true?

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Yes...It is. But I feel like if I tell them..._

Ayako: …

Ayako: Yes... I tried to frame myself.

Saya: So in short, you didn't think of us to be important?!

Suguru: W-what..?

Ayako: I... I'm sorry.

Saya: Were we the only ones who thought that you were our friend?

Ayako: _Huh? S-Saya's not the person to say that, so..._

Saya: We trusted you.

Saya: We were all sad that you were voted to be the killer...

Saya: And yet it was all a trick.

Ayako: S-Saya...

Yukio: Now, now. Let's not get off-topic.

Yukio: We are discussing something else. Not your relationship problems.

Saya: Fair enough. What's important right now is for us to survive.

Saya: So we'll discover all the mysteries of this school! In this very class trial!

Kichiro: Er, I do have a question though.

Yukio: Yes?

Kichiro: It almost seems like you're spoon-feeding us answers... why?

Yukio: What? You don't like it?

Kichiro: Well, I'm not saying that...

Yukio: I find it rather odd. I mean, it's only human nature for people to want information fed to them on a silver platter.

Yukio: Humans like that are naïve and lazy. But I am a man of many things, and I like to stick to the norm whenever possible.

Yukio: Or am I man? Can I still be considered a teenager?

Kyouko: T-that's right! You're freaking young!

Yukio: Correct. I am about 18 years old. I look like a high school student, don't I?

Kichiro: Y-yeah... how is it that you set this all up?

Yukio: Don't worry. That should come up through the events of this trial. However, do remember that I am an Enoshima.

Yukio: My family are all in despair, and we have the funds to do this sort of thing.

Ayako: _That's right... there's no way some ordinary madman was able to pay for all of this._

Ayako: _From the executions... to accommodating this academy._

Yukio: It is sort of a weird thing we do.

Yukio: Such as you guys have titles for your many talents...

Yukio: We have a title for what we believe the world should be consumed in.

Yukio: We enjoy calling ourselves, **Super Highschool Level Despair.**

Ayako: Huh?

Suguru: W-what's that?!

Hideaki: Super... Highschool Level Despair? *cough *

Yukio: Indeed.

Yukio: How did we get the name, you ask?

Yukio: It was this sickening environment of Hope's Peak Academy that inspired this title, you see.

Saya: This academy was considered to be a beacon of hope to young teenagers hoping to find a start in life.

Saya: Is that why you picked the name, Super Highschool Level Despair?

Yukio: Indeed.

Yukio: It was a unanimous vote. We all thought it was an ironic title.

Ayako: ..._Super Highschool Level Despair..._

Ayako: _Why does that sound so familiar?_

Yukio: Ho? Do you have something on your mind, Ayako?

Ayako: N-no...

Ayako: _It's so familiar. Why do I know that title?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase eight\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**KIYOMASA**

_Ayako: I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: Super Highschool Level Despair...

Ayako: I know I've heard of that title before.

Saya: It does seem to be vaguely familiar to me as well.

Ayako: That was Senji's title, wasn't it?

Saya: Y-you're right. I believe it was!

Yukio: Senji Kiyomasa? Oh, I almost forgot about that man.

Yukio: Not a teenager, but **man.**

Ayako: Huh?

Yukio: Didn't you think that Senji looked a little mature?

Yukio: He barely passed off as a highschool student, but in reality, he was actually 24 at the time he died.

Yukio: Isn't it funny though? I'm pretty sure his birthday was last week.

Yukio: How depressing.

Ayako: Senji wasn't a highschool student?!

Yukio: Why are you so surprised? It's not like it matters much anyhow.

Yukio: The point is, yet, his title was Super Highschool Level Despair.

Yukio: I'm glad you brought that up though.

Ayako: Uh, you are?

Suguru: I-if Senji was a Highschool Level Despair, does that mean he was involved with your little organization?

Yukio: We are not an organization, so to speak.

Yukio: Oh, how should I say this? We are a group of people wrapped around despair. We have no official rules or anything like that.

Yukio: As long as you permanently despaired your entire life, you are a part of Super Highschool Level Despair.

Kyouko: But that's... not for you to decide, is it?

Yukio: What do you mean?

Yukio: What else would you call a **phenomenon **of despair?

Yukio: I feel that it is a fitting name. It shall soon catch on sooner or later.

Hideaki: …

Yukio: Are you troubled Hideaki?

Hideaki: ...*burp*

Yukio: Ho? That wasn't very polite.

Hideaki: …

_[Soon after Yukio said that, Hideaki ran to the back of the courtroom, and vomited out blood for what seemed like an eternity.]_

Ayako: Hideaki!

Hideaki: I-I'm alright...

Yukio: It looks like the poison is finally starting to take a little effect.

Yukio: Though, don't worry. You still won't die for a while.

Hideaki: T-that's...

Yukio: Pointless?

Yukio: I suppose you're right. Knowing you're going to die will put you in a state of despair.

Yukio: Or does it?

Yukio: Maybe it's hope?

Suguru: How would it be hope? If you're going to die, you're going to die! There's no hope in that!

Yukio: Is that right?

Yukio: Were you not all trapped in this school? Did you not see all your friends die in front of you?

Yukio: Did the thought of, "I can leave this place if I just die," ever cross your mind?

Yukio: I'm sure it crossed _some _of your minds.

Ayako: Never mind all that. We were talking about Senji, right?

Yukio: Correct. Senji is a part of Super Highschool Level Despair, which can be described as a phenomenon.

Yukio: However, what did he have to do with Super Highschool Level Despair, exactly? Isn't that question burning in your minds?

Suguru: What do you mean? Did Senji have something important to due with Super Highschool Level Despair?

Yukio: Was he important?

Kyouko: Huh? He wasn't? Then what's the point of him?

Kyouko: I mean, he forgot his memories... was he a bother to you guys?

Yukio: Of course he was. That's why we put him under the coliseum. He forgot all about his involvement with Super Highschool Level Despair, and he even forgot his despair.

Yukio: He was just an ordinary highschool student. He didn't even remember his age.

Hideaki: W... what did he have to do with despair though?

Yukio: You see... he **wasn't involved with despair at all.**

Ayako: Huh?!

Ayako: _Then... that means!_

Saya: But Taisuke didn't tell Senji his talent because he was worried about the title!

Yukio: Yes. If you want to say it like that, then the two of them died in vain.

Ayako: Wait... so, the two of them... what?

Yukio: You see, they were involved in a top-secret organization to cleanse the world of Super Highschool Level Despair.

Yukio: I'm not sure if I should tell you this...

Yukio: Should I?

Yukio: Should I not?

Ayako: J-just tell us!

Yukio: Oh, alright.

Yukio: You see, Senji and Taisuke were both founders of a certain group.

Yukio: They were called...

Yukio: **...the Future Foundation.**

Suguru: W-what's that?

Yukio: As of now, it is an exclusive, yet top secret group that wants to get rid of Super Highschool Level Despair.

Yukio: They fear that our despair may become a widespread, which is why it was founded.

Ayako: B-but if they were apart of that, then why were they called despair?

Yukio: Senji was the leader of the Future Foundation. However, he needed more information on us, since his subordinates weren't able to get any.

Yukio: He took a major risk... and joined Super Highschool Level Despair. Undercover, that is.

Yukio: **Ahaha! What a _fucking dumbass!_**

Yukio: Excuse me. That was off character. I apologize.

Ayako: G-gimme a damn break..!

Saya: So what are you saying?! Was Senji on our side?

Yukio: **_Uh, fuckin' DUH!_**

Yukio: Oh my. My personality is changing quite a lot today.

Yukio: Perhaps I should take my meds...

Yukio: Anyways, yes. He was trying to stop despair and went undercover.

Yukio: As you can probably imagine, it did not work well for him at all.

Yukio: He did not return or come in contact with Taisuke, the "vice-president," in other words, and Taisuke went to check up on Senji.

Ayako: S-so... what happened next was...

Yukio: I can see what you are thinking, and you are correct.

Yukio: **He was captured and then forced to participate in this coliseum.**

Saya: G...Good God...

Yukio: Yes. The memories of the two special people at the Future Foundation. They were completely wiped out.

Ayako: How did you wipe out their memories?!

Yukio: It wasn't just their memories that were wiped out.

Yukio: The memories of all of you... they're gone.

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: _N-no..!_

Ayako: _It can't be!_

Yukio: I can see the shock on all of your faces, and let me assure you that I am not lying. Nor would I ever "lie" about something as sensitive as this.

Hideaki: H-how did you do it? How did you manage to take our memories away..?

Yukio: I believe there is a scientific way to do it. One way is to damage a section of your brain to eliminate a certain memory.

Hideaki: Even still, if you do that... *cough *

Suguru: H... haha... heh...

Suguru: I don't believe it one bit!

Kichiro: Neither do I! That's fucking bullshit!

Saya: To say to us that our memories were taken from us... that's impossible!

Ayako: _Is it?_

Ayako: _Is there a certain point of time that our memories might have actually been stolen?_

Yukio: I assure you that it is true.

Yukio: Why would I have any reason to lie anymore? I practically killed Hideaki. You guys are falling deeper and deeper into despair as I say things.

Ayako: _I just have to convince the others... _

Ayako: _Then it'll be alright._

* * *

**/=/=/phase nine\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Yukio: From the **beginning... **the **middle...** and the **end **of your time here at Hope's Peak Academy.

Yukio: You all had your memories stolen.

Yukio: Or did we steal them..?

Suguru: B-bullshit!

Suguru: **When did you steal our memories?!**

Kichiro: I... I don't believe it either!

Kichiro: **We didn't forget anything!**

Saya: I-if we don't face this as the truth...

* * *

**BREAK!**

_[Piece of ammo used: the phrase: "...beginning."]_

Ayako: I think I know... when we had our memories taken from us.

Suguru: Huh?

Saya: Why should we listen to you?! You tried to fucking kill us!

Ayako: I know, but hear me out!

Ayako: Remember when we first got at this school?

Hideaki: We went inside the school, and we were knocked out, weren't we?

Saya: O-our minds got fuzzy. We woke up in a part of the school.

Saya: What of it?

Ayako: What if... that was a bridge between when we lost our memories?

Yukio: Well, because it is.

Ayako: Huh?

Yukio: Yes. Ayako hit the nail on the head.

Saya: We had our memories taken from us at the entrance ceremony?!

Yukio: Naturally it took a little while. It took a while to remove your memories. But in the end... despair prevailed!

Saya: T-then I'll get straight to the point...

Saya: What memories did you steal from us?!

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Wait a minute..._

Ayako: _That's not right._

Ayako: H-hold on just a minute, Saya.

Yukio: What is it, oh smart one? Would you like to say something else?

Ayako: Is it possible... that we _didn't_ have our memories taken from us from that point?

Hideaki: What?!

Yukio: That's impossible. I apologize.

Ayako: B-but...

Yukio: That's enough of that. Should we move on?

Ayako: _For some reason, he doesn't want me to get this right._

Ayako: _But I have evidence to show that we __didn't __have our memories taken from us from that point!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase ten\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Yukio: It is impossible that **I didn't steal any of your memories.** Period.

Saya: To assume that you did steal some of our memories... we would feel like we had forgotten something.

Suguru: I-I was so in shock, I didn't even think about it!

Yukio: What proof do you have that I _didn't _steal your memories?

Kyouko: T-this is insane...

Kyouko: **I can't take this anymore!**

* * *

**BREAK!**

_[Piece of ammo used: Hideaki's Exit and Entrance]_

Ayako: Yukio, if you may, you confirmed that we lost our memories when we entered the school, right?

Yukio: Yes. I stole your memories, and the gap between when I did and what I stole lies in the fuzziness you experienced when you first walked into the school.

Ayako: But that's impossible!

Yukio: And why is it impossible?

Ayako: Hideaki left the school a while back, and entered the school again for us.

Ayako: He experienced the very same fuzziness.

Ayako: Did you steal his memories twice then?

Yukio: …

Yukio: Interesting prospect.

Yukio: While I am going to bring up another topic that is completely off-topic and irrelevant to the conversation...

Yukio: I'm going to leave these questions hanging above your head.

Yukio: One, **why is it that Hideaki experienced that fuzziness a second time?**

Hideaki: W-why did I black out again, you mean?

Yukio: Two, **what memories did I exactly steal from you?**

Saya: It's true that you might have stolen our memories.

Saya: But I don't know if you would have benefited from it in any way.

Yukio: Lastly...

Yukio: **Is Hideaki telling the truth?**

Ayako: H-huh?! What do you mean?

Yukio: The fact that he left the school is a rather ridiculous proposition.

Yukio: I watched over recorded video footage time and time again.

Yukio: There's no way Hideaki escaped without me noticing.

Hideaki: …*cough *

Ayako: Hideaki?

Hideaki: …

Ayako: B-but! Even if he was lying... why would he?

Ayako: Is there anything to gain from lying to _me_ about leaving the school?

Yukio: That's for you to discover during this trial... **you fucking dumbass!**

Yukio: I apologize. That was off character.

Hideaki: O-One last thing before we change subject.

Yukio: Yes, stutter king?

Hideaki: Assuming that you did steal our memories... why? What purpose do you have in stealing our memories?

Yukio: …

Yukio: That's a mystery, isn't it?

Yukio: You would like to know... I know you would. But first I'd rather talk about something else.

Yukio: Rin.

Rin: Huh? Er, yada?

Yukio: You haven't uttered a word in such a while. Are you okay?

Rin: Of course I'm okay! Go get your fucking underwear and stick it _wayyyy _up your ass!

Ayako: W-why are you calling out Rin all of a sudden?

Yukio: Have you noticed she hasn't uttered a word since I came into the playing field? I wonder why that is.

Hideaki: S-she's nervous, maybe.

Yukio: That's not true, obviously. Insanity cancels out fear in all retrospects, whether you like it or not.

Rin: Shoosh yeah! I'm _**fucking insane **_aren't I?!

Yukio: Hmm... I wonder why.

Rin: …

Yukio: Why you were so quiet...

Rin: …

Yukio: Why... you turned to insanity...

Rin: ..!

Yukio: Do you want to know why Rin?

Rin: Uh...

Rin: Ha! I could care less about my past!

Rin: I _**love the insane me! Fuuuuuuck yeah!**_

Yukio: …I see.

Yukio: Well then...

Yukio: Okay!

Ayako: Okay?

Yukio: My lips are sealed! You will not nor ever know why your personality made such a jump! From being a polite piano player, to now having a fetish for insanity...

Yukio: Oh well!

Rin: Well if you say it like that, you dumbass, of course I want to know!

Yukio: Too late.

Yukio: Besides. I'm tired.

Yukio: I've been explaining a bunch of shit to you guys for who knows how long.

Yukio: I'd rather take a nice... long... snooze.

Ayako: …

Ayako: So what do you expect us to do?!

Yukio: Let's see what mysteries you solved so far...

Yukio: Super Highschool Level Despair and their identity. Is that it?

Ayako: We still need to find out about our memories...

Rin: And my past! Ya dingleberry!

Suguru: Uh, I thought you didn't care.

Rin: Of course I did! I'm just the type of girl to hide her feelings!

Hideaki: …

Yukio: Fine then. But you know, I feel like I've been spoon-feeding you the answers all this time.

Yukio: So let me ask you... is there anything else you wish to talk about?

Ayako: Uh, what about our mem-

Yukio: Except that.

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Let's see..._

Ayako: _Anything else to discuss..?_

* * *

**/=/=/phase eleven\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Yukio: The school's mysteries... only one thing lies between you and the truth.

Kyouko: What else is there to talk about, though?

Suguru: I can't... think of anything right now.

Saya: Honestly... what does he expect us to remember?

Kichiro: After going through all that shock... damn.

Hideaki: …

Yukio: **Come on. Converse.** **What shall we discuss?**

* * *

**BREAK!**

_[Piece of ammo used: Pictures]_

Ayako: I think it's obvious... that we should talk about the pictures.

Hideaki: The pictures of our families... that were found in the AV Room?

Yukio: Oh. Fine choice you picked out.

Kichiro: Er, I think the biggest question is how the school _got _them.

Yukio: Perhaps you gave it to them?

Kichiro: Huh?

Yukio: When you entered this school, you required an I.D and a photo of your family to enter this school.

Kichiro: So that's how they got the picture?

Kichiro: Damn... and I thought there was something more sinister to it.

Yukio: What do you mean sinister?

Kyouko: Like, you went into our houses and slaughtered our family... taking the photos yourself.

Rin: Not like I care about what happens to my family! Yahoo!

Yukio: Yes. I am witnessing a case of natural curiosity... You want to know whether or not there is something deeper, right?

Yukio: Something with a darker secrets surrounding your families.

Ayako: A-are you saying... that there are some?

Yukio: There is one, actual, major key point.

Yukio: **It's a plot twist that no one will get! Yahoo!**

Yukio: I apologize. That was –

Kyouko: Holy crap, that's getting _so _annoying.

Yukio: Ahem... anyways, you want to know, right?

Hideaki: What dark secrets lay in our family... of course I want to know.

Saya: I'm not sure I'm up for this.

Suguru: R-Roger! Hold me!

Roger: Bark!

Ayako: Are you going to tell us now?

Yukio: Am I going to tell you?

Yukio: …

Yukio: *yawn *

Yukio: No.

Ayako: What?

Suguru: The?

Kichiro: Hell?!

Saya: Why aren't you telling us?!

Yukio: This is tiring and bothersome. I know I promised that we'd find out all the secrets of the school...

Yukio: But you guys aren't figuring anything out by yourself.

Ayako: So you won't tell us anything?!

Yukio: Not to mention I'm tired. My voice hurts a little.

Saya: C-c'mon! Tell us already!

Yukio: No.

Suguru: Pl-

Yukio: No.

Kichiro: Fu-

Yukio: -ck you.

Ayako: ..._Yukio is not going to talk this way. I need to get him to talk right now!_

Ayako: _What the hell happened with our families?!_

* * *

**/=/=/phase twelve\=\=\**

**Machinegun Talk Battle!**

Yukio: I am bored of this.

Yukio: *Yawn *

Yukio: **Fuck all of you!** Whoops. Off character.

Yukio: Please do not make me repeat myself.

Yukio: I wish for you to find out the truth yourself.

Yukio: Tell me why you want to know so bad.

Yukio: Is it that you're curious?

Yukio: Would you like to know so bad that your insides are scratching out of you?

Yukio: Please tell me.

Yukio: Is there a reason?

Yukio: That you want to know so bad?

Yukio: Because of there is... you'd better find it out yourself. So...

Yukio: **What happened to your parents? What do they relate to all of this?**

_Piece of ammo used: Sub-zero Locker_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: The sub-zero locker... and the boxes?

Yukio: Ding, dong, ding, dong.

Yukio: You want to know the truth? It's not that we couldn't afford to stuff your dead friends in the freezer.

Yukio: We didn't choose too because it would have become overcrowded.

Yukio: You see, the bodies in that freezer...

Yukio: May contain the **dead body of one of your parents.**

Suguru: H...

Suguru: HUUUUUUUUUUUNH?!

Saya: W...why only one?!

Yukio: There's no secret meaning in that. We just decided we'd only keep one. I suppose it was another matter of preserving space.

Ayako: You... you sick bastard!

Ayako: Y-you mean one of my parents are in there?!

Ayako: B-but!

Suguru: I don't believe it one bit!

Kyouko: We would have recognized one of our parents then! We wouldn't have stood idly by!

Rin: Yahoo! I'm only a _little_ bit sad!

Ayako: Only a _little? _What the hell?!

Hideaki: S-so what were the pictures for then?

Yukio: No secret meaning in that either. I put them in the AV Room since I had nowhere else to stuff them.

Hideaki: Y-you...

Hideaki: You!

Yukio: I wouldn't stress to much, Hideaki, or else you might end up dying earlier than you would want.

Hideaki: ..!

Ayako: H-Hideaki! Please calm down!

Saya: D-don't tell him to calm down! You got us in all of this!

Ayako: M-me?!

Kichiro: Y-you tried to kill us, you bitch!

Ayako: I-I'm sorry! I messed up! I panicked!

Kyouko: What the hell?!

Rin: Wow! I'm like the most sane one at this court right now!

Rin: Ahahaha!

Yukio: Is that right, Rin?

Rin: EH?! What are you saying again, you four-eyes?

Yukio: Ha. Do you know why you are insane?

Rin: You never told me, you dumbass!

Yukio: My goal is to make all of you despair.

Yukio: It appears that making Rin despair is harder than it looks.

Rin: Whatcha talking about?!

Yukio: You guys want to take a guess? C'mon.

Yukio: Why do YOU think that Rin is crazy?

Ayako: Does it have something to do with her past? S-she never moved away when I knew her... so... was she acting?!

Rin: Oh right! I forgot you were my childhood friend, gurl!

Suguru: A former friend!

Ayako: ..!

Ayako: _I feel like I messed up big time in trying to save Hideaki... but..._

Hideaki: …I'm sorry, Rin.

Rin: Eh?! Big bro?!

Hideaki: Your personality turned that way because of me.

Rin: What you talkin' bout?!

Rin: Aha! I talked **urban!**

Yukio: Yes. I believe Hideaki told you this story, Ayako...

Yukio: But as the brother-sister bond of Hideaki and Rin grew...

Yukio: He was taken away.

Ayako: What?

Hideaki: Taken away by the government for spy tasks.

Hideaki: I had to leave Rin and her family to do that.

Hideaki: That might have been around the time where Rin's personality shifted.

Rin: Y-you lie! Son of a bitch, I mean, I tried to kill you, you know!

Yukio: Is that not because you harbored feelings of hatred towards him?

Rin: H-huh?!

Rin: Ha! Y-yeah right! I'm not that kind of girl, bitch!

Yukio: You're right... you're not.

Rin: Whatcha talking about?

Kichiro: You just said that she had feelings of hate towards Hideaki, but you're contradicting yourself right now!

Yukio: First off, let's talk business. How big in **despair** are you right now?

Saya: What kind of question is that?! Why do you keep stalling points like this?!

Yukio: That's just the kind of man I am. I am the kind to leave people at suspense.

Yukio: Besides. It's rather annoying that I must keep explaining things to you. However, things all have a purpose at the end.

Hideaki: G-get to the point!

Yukio: Did I not say that any other stress would kill you? Wouldn't you rather say goodbye to your friends before your exit?  
Hideaki: ..!

Yukio: Or would you?

Yukio: Or would you not..?

Ayako: _Friends..._

Ayako: _That word is jumping up in my face._

Ayako: _I feel like I betrayed all of my friends._

Ayako: _And now they hate me. They'll hate me forever._

Yukio: Ayako? You look troubled?

Ayako: …

Yukio: Are you upset that you tried to kill everyone and save one person?

Yukio: Because I'm sure the others won't forgive you.

Ayako: I...

Saya: Let's discuss this at a different time. We cannot afford to hold any hostile feelings!

Yukio: Besides. I believe we were talking about how heavy your despair is.

Yukio: On a scale to 1-10... please tell me how hard you are **despairing.**

Saya: …

Kichiro: W-why would we answer that?

Yukio: ...I see.

Yukio: By not answering this question...

Yukio: **You have just proved that you are all in maximum despair!**

Saya: M-maximum despair?

Kichiro: What are you talking about?!

Yukio: Right now, I'm going to reveal to you...

Yukio: My ultimate **secret of despair!**

Rin: Your secret of despair?! Don't fucking mutter those words!

Yukio: Rin! Let me tell you why you are so damn insane!

Rin: Huh?!

Rin: Ha! Even if you told me! I'd... I'd –

Yukio: What memories do you have of Hideaki?

Rin: Eh?!

Yukio: Answer the question.

Rin: ...What do you mean, memories?

Yukio: Do you love him? Do you hate him?

Yukio: Do you remember spending time with him?

Rin: …

Rin: …

Rin: Alright... But **just because if I don't we'll all die!**

Rin: I loved Hideaki.

Hideaki: Rin...

Rin: As a brother. He was a great friend to me.

Rin: But then he left...

Rin: Why did he leave?! All my hatrid!

Rin: It turned to insanity! Ahahaha!

Hideaki: R-Rin...

Saya: You turned insane _just_ because of that!

Rin: Naturally It wasn't just because of that, you ding dong!

Rin: There's a deeper reason that that! Deeper than the fucking ocean!

Yukio: While I feel like I've heard that before...

Yukio: Saya is right in the fact that no one would turn insane over that.

Rin: What?!

Suguru: So what are you saying?!

Suguru: Are you saying Rin was insane from the start?

Yukio: Of course not.

Yukio: But let me bring up another topic in addition to this.

Kyouko: Are you avoiding the topic again?

Yukio: I am not. Like I said, I am simply adding a discussion to what we are already talking about now. Now, with that said...

Yukio: Let me ask you, what do **you** think was stolen from you?

Ayako: Huh?

Ayako: You mean in terms of our memories?

Yukio: Yes. What exactly did I steal from you?

Yukio: You don't know, do you?

Ayako: I... I –

Yukio: Now let me go back to the topic of Rin.

Rin: ..!

Yukio: What memories did I steal from her?

Ayako: Uh...

Yukio: Incorrect!

Ayako: I didn't say anything!

Yukio: I stole the memories of your family.

Ayako: ...What?

Ayako: But, you just said in that freezer!

Yukio: You think you don't recognize them because of their decayed skin?!

Yukio: Bullshit! Some of their faces are still in tact, aren't they? Did you bother to take a notice in that? Huh?

Ayako: …

Ayako: You mean... what?!

Hideaki: B-but that's impossible!

Hideaki: I remember the face of my parents clear as day!

Yukio: …

Yukio: Do you?

Hideaki: H-huh?!

Yukio: Do you want me to be honest with you?

Yukio: You were all **test subjects to us!**

Hideaki: W-we were test subjects?

Yukio: Yes!

Yukio: You were test subjects!

Yukio: You were my test subjects of despair!

Rin: Get to the fucking point already!

Suguru: Tell us what we were your tests for!

Kyouko: D-did you rape us or something?!

Saya: I-I doubt he did that...

Yukio: …

Hideaki: Well?

Hideaki: Tell us what you did!

Yukio: ...

Yukio: **Fuck all of you!**

Yukio: **I'm fucking tired of explaining every fucking things to your fucking minds!**

Yukio: **Ha! I'm fucking off-character! But I've lost it!**

Yukio: **Day after day after day after dayafterdayafterdayafterdayafterdaydaydaydaydayday ... **

Yukio: **I really can't take this shit anymore! Playing as Monokuma!**

Yukio: **Playing as your mastermind!**

Yukio: **The faster I get this done, the better!**

Yukio: …

Ayako: _T-this guy is losing so many nuts!_

Yukio: I apologize very much for my outburst.

Ayako: ..._Either way._

Ayako: _I'm going to have to get the truth out of this yourself._

* * *

**/=/=/phase thirteen\=\=\**

**Epiphany Anagram!**

**MEMORIES**

Ayako: _I got it!_

* * *

**BREAK!**

Ayako: You did something to our memories...

Ayako: That much is clear.

Ayako: Does what you were testing involve our memories?

Yukio: Yes!

Yukio: You are all test subjects to my despair!

Yukio: Super Level Highschool Despair...

Yukio: **We were testing how to steal memories!**

Yukio: **We were testing how to implant memories!**

Yukio: **We were testing... ****your memories!**

Ayako: …

Hideaki: …

Saya: …

Suguru: …

Rin: ...Ho!

Kyouko: …

Kichiro: …

Yukio: This silence... it reeks of despair.

Yukio: So much... orgasmic despair...

Yukio: It's not just your memories we're testing... **Junko's too...**

Yukio: But do you all want to know something else?

Ayako: H-huh?

Ayako: T-there's more?!

Hideaki: ...Please... please stop...

Yukio: I'm going to show you...

Saya: ..!

Yukio: A little bit...

Kichiro: ...Tch!

Rin: Hmm...

Yukio: More...

Kyouko: ...Ngh!

Yukio: OF DESPAIR!

Hideaki: …

Saya: There's more?! Stop it!

Kichiro: Y-you better stop fucking around, Enoshima!

Yukio: …

Yukio: Let me...

Yukio: Show you...

Yukio: What's happening...

Yukio: At the outside world!

Yukio: Get ready for despair!

Yukio: Despair!

_[Yukio pulls a lever that pulls out in front of his seat. The seats rises on a platform, and the ceiling opens up, and light shines from above. The platform rises... and rises... and rises. Until there is no longer light. The sky is darkened and filled with black death. On the horizon, everyone saw smoke rising from the distance. There was fire rising up from the distance. Ayako looked at everyone's faces. Their faces were filled with dark. It can only be described as despair. As the platform lowered, and the ceiling closed again, what was seen by them could not be simply explained by a fire in the distance. Disaster was happening out at the surface.]_

Yukio: Isn't it just despairing?

Yukio: Ahaha! I look forward to hearing your reactions!

Hideaki: ...Wh...what was that?

Saya: ...It looked like the world was ending... right in front of us...

Kyouko: I... I can't believe it!

Kyouko: I don't want to believe it!

Suguru: R-Roger...

Roger: *whimper *

Kichiro: …

Kichiro: What's going on?!

Yukio: Aren't you curious?

Yukio: What's going on right now?

Yukio: Why I left so many times?

Yukio: Particularly this trial?

Ayako: S-stop talking already!

Yukio: **Ahaha!**

Yukio: **Forget it! I've gone past the deep end!**

Yukio: **This despair! It's so... Orgasmic!**

Yukio: **I can't even begin to think about how I'll embrace the world outside with it's **_**oozing despair!**_

Yukio: Let me tell you something, you guys!

Yukio: This is so exhilarating to me!

Yukio: Ahahahaha!

Yukio: What's going on right now, you ask?!

Yukio: What do you want to know about what's happening on the outside?!

Yukio: It's **Mankind's Most Despairingly Maleficent and Monstrous Malefaction!**

Saya: …

Ayako: …

Hideaki: …

Ayako: Mankind's... Most Despairingly Maleficent and Monstrous Malefaction?

Hideaki: I feel sick... Sicker than before...

Saya: What kind of name is that?!

Hideaki: …

Ayako: H-Hideaki? Are you okay?

_[Hideaki falls to the floor, collapsed. Ayako rushed to his side, and held his head with her hands.]_

Ayako: H-Hideaki! Wake up!

Yukio: It looks like the sight of the world ending in front of him was too much to handle, wasn't it?!

Saya: …

Kichiro: I... I can't believe it... the world... ending?

Ayako: H-he's breathing... he still has a pulse!

Yukio: Looks like he's still alive.

Yukio: You have permission to keep Hideaki by your seat, Ayako.

Yukio: He'll need a little bit of rest when he wakes up.

Ayako: O-okay...

Ayako: _Hideaki... you saved me from this?_

Ayako: _Your head has a pounding fever. I feel like I'm burning my hand my resting it on you._

Ayako: _Please don't die!_

Rin: Isn't there a way to save Hideaki, Yukio Enoshima-chan?!

Ayako: R-Rin!

Yukio: I wouldn't have guessed that you would show any worry for Hideaki, Rin! Ah, but what does that matter?! I'm hopping in my seat right now!

Rin: You implanted hatred in my head, you dumbass!

Rin: Hahaha! Like someone said, insanity overcomes despair!

Rin: Yup! I'll forgive Hideaki knowing you were such a dumbass!

Yukio: …

Yukio: I see!

Yukio: Well, that's okay!

Yukio: Well, you've all done it!

Yukio: You've solved all the mysteries of the school!

Suguru: W-we haven't done anything!

Ayako: …

Ayako: I...

Yukio: Now let's do this!

Ayako: Do what?!

Yukio: Ballot time!

Yukio: Class rules!

Ayako: Ballot time?!

Yukio: I said ballot time!

Yukio: Forget voting about Kouichi's death!

Yukio: Let's make things a lot more interesting!

Saya: H-how?!

Saya: How are we supposed to vote for anything?!

Yukio: This is what we are going to do!

Yukio: You guys are **hope!**

Yukio: I am **despair!**

Yukio: Do you want to return to that world?

Yukio: That world of despair?

Ayako: …

Ayako: …

Hideaki: (whispering) A...Ayako...

Ayako: Hideaki!

Hideaki: D-don't... don't fall for it...

Ayako: H-huh?!

Yukio: If you vote for hope to lose...

Yukio: Then I win!

Saya: A-and we'll be executed?!

Yukio: Of course not! No one in the right mind would vote for themselves to be killed!

Yukio: So you'll live in this campus!

Saya: H-huh?

Yukio: You will live on with protection in this campus as Super Highschool Level Despair!

Yukio: But if you guys vote against for despair to win...

Yukio: I will **execute myself!**

Yukio: And you guys, will live on in that ending world!

Ayako: So if we vote _against _us... we live?!

Yukio: Rotting here is the ultimate punishment while everyone you love dies outside!

Saya: But if we vote to fight against despair...

Yukio: You'll die in this everlasting world of despair!

Yukio: So how's about it?

Yukio: Do you want to die?!

Yukio: Let's start!

Yukio: It's...

Yukio: **BALLOT TIME!**

…

…

_Ballot time?_

…

…

_This is the end?_

Ayako: I...I'm so sorry, you guys.

Saya: A-Ayako...

Ayako: I... was going to kill all of you.

Ayako: But...

Ayako: But..!

Ayako: …

Ayako: _Are we going to decide to kill ourselves?_

Ayako: _Are we really going to vote for hope to win?_

…

Hideaki: A...Ayako...

Ayako: Hideaki!

Hideaki: P...please...

Hideaki: D...don't fall for despair... *cough *

Ayako: C-calm down!

Hideaki: Y...you can't...

Yukio: **By the way!**

Yukio: If you decide to leave this school...

Yukio: I'll press this switch!

Yukio: And the school will be bombed!

Yukio: So how's about it?!

Hideaki: Live on... Ayako...

Hideaki: Hope..!

Ayako: _What do I do?!_

Ayako: _Do I listen to Hideaki?_

Yukio: Are you guys going to die?!

Ayako: _…_

Ayako: _…_

…

_Taisuke: Ayako..._

_Taisuke: ...the Future Foundation needs to live on..._

_Why do I here Taisuke's voice?_

_Taisuke: ...you aren't going to give into despair, are you?_

_Is that really him?_

_Taisuke: ...you can't let anyone fall into despair anymore._

…

_Taisuke: Help Senji and me... Take down Yukio Enoshima!_

…

Hideaki: A...Ayako?

Ayako: _...Was that really him?_

Ayako: _I heard Taisuke's voice in my head..._

Ayako: _Or was that my imagination?_

Ayako: Hideaki.

Ayako: _It doesn't matter._

Ayako: I'm going to... I know I'm going too...

Ayako: _Whether or not it was Taisuke..._

Ayako: I'm going to take down Yukio Enoshima!

Ayako: _I wouldn't have fallen to despair anyways!_

Yukio: So? How about it?

Yukio: Are you all ready to die?

* * *

**/=/=/phase fourteen\=\=\**

**Nonstop Debate!**

Yukio: Are you all ready to drown in despair?!

Yukio: Have you given up all of your **hope?**

Ayako: ...No... I won't fall to you!

Yukio: When you leave this school...

Yukio: I'll bomb it! You'll never return to this again! No more safety from an already ending world!

Saya: …

Yukio: You'll go out into that world!

Yukio: You saw it yourself! It's ending!

Kichiro: …

Yukio: How _orgasmic!_

Yukio: You'll be subjected to nothing except death!

Rin: Hahaha! Insanity always overcomes despair!

Yukio: Your dead friends...

Yukio: They'll mean nothing if you just leave now!

Kyouko: …

Yukio: So how's about it?

Yukio: **Do you give into despair?!  
**

* * *

**BREAK!**

_[Piece of ammo used: the phrase "...hope"]_

Ayako: We will not give into despair!

Ayako: I will not give into despair!

* * *

_**Eighth class trial complete! Live to see another day!**_

"I will not give into your despair!" I yelled. "I will not be destroyed by your despair!"

"...Alright," Yukio said. "That's you. But what about the others?"

I looked at the others, my face brimming with confidence. I looked at Hideaki's weakened face, who was smiling even as he seemed to be on the verge of his death. But I couldn't let that despair me; Hideaki wouldn't have wanted that.

"Everyone," I said. "Don't give into Yukio. Listen to me, I'll be your beacon of hope!"

"...Our beacon of hope?" Saya asked. "Did you really think that we'd need that from you?"

"Huh?"

"We'd never give into despair," Kichiro said. "That speech of yours... I guess that helped us, didn't it?"

"Hell yeah!" Rin laughed. "But I'm already pretty fucking insane!"

"Y-you guys!"

Hideaki struggled to his feet, and pointed at Yukio weakly.

"Y-you see, Yukio?" he started, pointing at Yukio. "Hope... will always win over despair!"

"H...Huh?!" Yukio snapped.

"Bullshit! Bullshit, bullshit!"

"Money fuck!"

"Turkey duck!"

"Shitty shits shit the shitty shit of shits!"

Yukio grabbed at his head, and began pulling his hair out. He stomped over the floor, and crawled to the middle, shaking his body and laughing.

"Wow!" Yukio screamed. "Unbelievable! Even after all that! I couldn't convince you guys to despair! I wish I could tell Junko this! She needs to be careful in the future! It looks like there really is... fragments of **hope** out there!"

"Alright!" I said. "We vote using this button in front of us, right?"

"It's ballot time!" Suguru exclaimed. "Let's vote together, Roger!"

_Bark!_

"Ha... Ha!" Yukio laughed. "Alright, you guys! Vote now! Limited supplies, ahaha!"

"It's time to bring down the puppetmaster," Saya said.

"This is orgasmic!" Yukio exclaimed. "I love this!"

Yukio got back up, and ran to his seat, slamming the slot machine on the table. Pulling the lever, his face showed up on all three columns as he laughed to the judge's chair. He took the gavel, and slammed it on the red button.

"Before I die! You guys better hurry after I'm executed! The school is going to be bombed, you know! You have twenty minutes to escape!"

"We'll make it!" I said. "We all will!"

"R...right," Hideaki muttered. "We... all... _will..._"

"Ayako... We forgive you for betraying us," Saya said. "But even after all of that, you influenced us to keep our hopes high."

"You think pianist is a boring title, right?" Hideaki mumbled. "S...so... we shouldn't call her a pianist anymore. Instead... we should call her _hope._"

**AYAKO KAWASUMI**

SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL HOPE

"You guys really disgust me!" Yukio laughed from on top of the judge's chair. "But that doesn't matter anymore! What matters now, is my execution!"

"You're really going to execute yourself?!" Kyouko asked, shocked.

"Don't mind this crazy fuck," Kichiro said. "Just enjoy the show!"

The man who killed all our friends...  
The man who tried to get us to despair...

"It's the end for you, Yukio Enoshima!"

…

"Yes, I suppose it is," Yukio said. "I'm sorry. I've been rather off-character, haven't I?"

"H-huh?"

"But rules are rules. It's time to execute myself, isn't it?"

"H-he's back to his collected self," Saya said.

"This is actually sort of sad," Yukio said. "Not despair sad. But, an actual sadness making me feel disappointed in myself. I couldn't get anyone to despair, did I? Luckily, this isn't the real thing, so... I guess, I didn't mess up completely. I did my job, right Junko?"

…

* * *

**SPEARS OF DEATH! YUKIO ENOSHIMA IS NOW DEAD!**

Yukio stood in the middle of the courtroom, waving to us as the seats lowered into the floor. The rest of us backed up, as spears extended from the groud. As they positioned themselves in front of Yukio, a rope lowered from the ceiling. In addition to all of this, a pool of chemicals opened up below him, a cannon filled with paintballs was aimed at him, along with a large laser gun, and Monobear's were dancing on the ground holding metersticks. Yukio laughed, as the spears pierced through his body.

Still laughing, the spears went deeper and deeper as it lifted him into the ceiling, and into the rope. The spears unsheathed themselves from Yukio's body, and Yukio was hung. Still barely alive, choking, paintballs shot him, as the Monobear's climbed up the spears, and slapped him with metersticks. After Yukio collapsed, he was dead. The laser gun activated, and Yukio's body disintegrated into ashes. The ashes fell, and dropped into the chemical, as it bubbled. There wasn't a hint of Yukio Enoshima anymore.

* * *

Despair was dead.

_Yukio Enoshima is dead._

_The despair has ended._

_Now the story is almost over._

_But despair can't end here._

_Because... this story wouldn't be the story it was..._

_If it ended right there._

_Farewell, the First Academy of Despair._

_We'll see you again soon._

_**Continued in: Epilogue**_

**(AN: Thank you so much for supporting me through this story.**

**It has meant so much to me whenever I pulled up my e-mail, and I saw someone had reviewed or favorited my story.**

**I was so happy everytime that happened, and that inspired me to write more.**

**The next epilogue will have an AN about future stories and works from me, and some more gratitude. But for now, I leave you with this.)**


	29. Epilogue: Last Despair (Final Chapter)

"Is that it?" Saya asked.

I looked into the horizon of the sky. It was sunset; a beautiful sunset that you only witness one every few years. The sky was painted with a magnificent blend of orange and pink, and the sun took up a quarter of the sky as it sank down the mountainside. Yet, here we are, about to walk out into a world of despair. Looking into the horizon, I saw a little light releasing out of the sun. It danced all the way across the sky, and began coming towards us ever so slowly.

"Looks like it," I said. "That must be the bomb."

Hideaki coughed up blood, and I ran to his side. He was struggling to stay alive as we spoke, yet there was no way to cure him. This "Monomono Poison," or whatever Enoshima called it, was absolutely terrifying.

"A-are you okay?" I asked nervously.

Hideaki didn't respond, and I could only lend my shoulders to his right arm as the seven of us trekked onwards. From the park, it would take a decent amount of time to reach the school entrance, and then get a safe distance away from the pond.

Carrying Hideaki was a challenge. He wasn't heavy; but he was holding us back. I didn't want to admit it, but we could barely leave the park in two minutes because he kept falling down and coughing up or throwing up blood.

"You're going to be okay," I said, as Hideaki coughed a new set of blood out. "We're going to find a cure outside, okay?"

Hideaki paused for a moment, and shook his head.

"I can't make it outside, Ayako," he said.

I lent my shoulders to Hideaki again, and we started walking.

"Don't be stupid," I scolded. "We're all going out together."

The others looked at me. Their faces were filled with sadness and sympathy mixed together, as if Hideaki would really day. As if. He couldn't die…

Six minutes passed. Four minutes left. We had just reached the cafeteria.

"We're almost there," I said to Hideaki. "Don't worry! We're going to make it!" As we continued walking, Hideaki weakly fell to the floor. As I leaned at his side, Hideaki coughed up even more blood. He placed his hands on his chest, and cringed.

"Y-you're going to be okay!" I said. "You aren't going to die!"

"No, Ayako," Hideaki said. "If you continue like this, we aren't going to make it. We might get out of the school but the shockwaves of the bomb would kill us anyways."

"Stop talking like that," I said. "Can you walk?"

Hideaki shook his head, and I picked up with my two arms. With help from Kichiro, we were carrying Hideaki out of the school. We couldn't run; that would kill Hideaki faster. We needed help from the outside.

Hideaki looked at the others, and closed his eyes.

"You're all being nice to me," Hideaki said. "Thank you."

"Idiot," Saya said. "We survived so many times because of you."

"And you're our friend," Suguru exclaimed. "We couldn't just leave you."

Hideaki opened his eyes just a little to smile, and he closed them again. He tugged at my sleeve, and I looked down.

"Please… leave me."

"W-what?!"

Kichiro had overheard and pinched Hideaki's nose.

"Shut up," Kichiro said. "We aren't going to do that."

"I'm going to kill all of you if you don't leave me," Hideaki said. "You won't make it out fast enough."

"We're almost there," Saya said. "We still have three minutes left."

"See?" I said. "We're going to be okay!"

Three minutes… Two minutes and fifty nine seconds… Two minutes and fifty eight seconds… Time was going by quickly and we had no time to waste.

But Hideaki insisted we left him.

"You could make it if you run," Hideaki said. "Just set me down somewhere… please."

"Why do you act like you want to die so bad," Kyouko sighed. "We aren't going to let you die like that!"

"Besides, didn't get to play with my bro for some time!" Rin said. Laughing crazily, she patted Hideaki's head."

"Two minutes," Saya called out. We still weren't at the entrance.

Hideaki's breaths were brief and strained. He was coughing, but no more blood came out; as if he ran out.

"Just… leave… me," Hideaki repeated, weakly.

"If we're going to die, I'm going to die with _you_," I said. "I'm not leaving your side."

"You have to," Hideaki said, letting out a tear. "I couldn't… bear to see… you die…"

"We're so close!" I said, choking back _my_ tears.

"Just do it," he pleaded.

A few moments of silence followed, until Saya spoke up again.

"There's no way we can continue with Hideaki," Saya said. "We're nearly out of time."

"S-shut up!" I said. "We're going to make, it alright?

I looked at the others, who were looking down at their feet as they walked. It's as if they believed what Saya was saying too. I could read their minds crystal clear, and they were all thinking the same thing. It's not like they wanted to abandon Hideaki. But…

_Live on._

Those were Hideaki's words to me. To all of us.

_Live on._

"Do you guys think we should leave him too?" I asked, fiddling with my fingers.

Everyone slowly nodded in agreement, and I swallowed by breath. Hideaki smiled, as I took him up a hill.

When I entered this school, there was one particular thing I noticed. A small hill with a really big willow tree. The leaves were falling beautifully, and I lay Hideaki down under the tree, on the hill. Hideaki smiled at me, as tears dropped from my face, onto his.

"I…don't want to leave you," I said. "But we… we aren't –"

"I know," Hideaki said. "It _was_ my idea." His voice was weak and brittle, but it was still Hideaki's voice. The last time I'd ever hear him. "Don't despair. You're Super Highschool Level Hope. You can't afford to despair."

"Hideaki…"

I lunged towards him, and gave him a long embrace. Hideaki used his strength and wrapped his arms around me. I wanted to stay like that forever – never leaving his side.

"Please, don't die," I said. "I want you to come with us!"

"…I lost the game," Hideaki said. "But you can still win."

"No!"

I was in denial.

I thought I was ready.

But could I leave Hideaki?

"Hideaki," I said, crying. "Y…you're the best friend I ever had… okay?"

Hideaki nodded. "You too," he whispered one last time.

Saya laid a hand on my shoulder, and I took out something from my pocket. It was a lollipop; Hideaki's favorite flavor. I placed it in his hands, and we walked away. I turned around, and I saw Hideaki waving a weak wave. While the tears were streaming down, Hideaki opened the lollipop wrapper, and placed it into his mouth.

That was the last time I'd ever see him.

Walking down the hill, Saya asked me if I'd be okay.

"Of course I will," I said through my tears. "I can't fall into despair. Hideaki would hate me otherwise."

…

"_Live… on…"_

I suppose you want to know what happened when we left the school. At the entrance, we were all in sorrow and heavy despair. Us being forced to leave Hideaki took a huge toll on all of us. Yukio had left a switch at his execution. Pressing it would open the heavily fortified gates. I could hear the missile with the bomb coming closer and closer. We'd have to make haste.

I pressed the switch, and the gates opened in front of us. Everyone was quiet. Everyone was sad.

"Do we really want to do this?" Kichiro asked.

"We have to," I said. "Hideaki wants us too."

"Well, if it's for my big bro," Rin sighed. The first time in her insanity, was she this quiet.

We took steps out of the gate… the missile was coming closer. We ran, and ran, and ran far away from the school.

It was finally freedom from Hope's Peak Academy. The end of our academic coliseum. But I felt like we were still held by its chains. We were walking out into a world of despair, and Hideaki's voice still kept me from full hope.

We left the school and ran around the town, avoiding contact with anybody and everybody. As we struggled to find shelter, we were found by an agent from the Future Foundation. I told the agent that Taisuke and Senji were killed. The agent, nodded, and while sad, said that the two would fight for hope. They rescued us, and we were taken to the Future Foundation.

Saya and Kichiro became higher-ups at the Future Foundation. While the two are the lowest branch, they still had some control over members, and they would use their power to bring hope to the world.

Suguru became a recruiter. She'd walk out into the streets every day with Roger and attempt to find some new members. She says that Roger would be a wonderful mascot and become radiant with hope.

Rin became the punishment official for traitors. Rin as the disciplinary coach didn't surprise me very much.

Kyouko became a messenger. Her fast typing skills allowed her to send messages to other people very quickly and rapidly.

What did I do?

I did join the Future Foundation, yes.

But how did I become their beacon of hope?

Am I their leader? No.

Am I an inspiration? No.

I refused both of those things, to be honest.

Instead, I act as an ordinary member. Sort of disappointing? Not for me. It's impossible for me to become full out hope. Because the truth was, there would always be a little despair stored away in my heart. That would come from Hideaki – and while I don't blame him, I wished that he would have come with us. We escaped because he sacrificed himself.

During the highschool Hideaki and I took a picture together. It was Hideaki's first casual picture.

I grabbed the locket I kept, holding the memory of Hideaki forever with me. I wrapped it around my neck, and I headed outside. The six of us were the survivors.

We survived our Highschool Life of Mutual Killing.

We kept on hoping.

For the future to come.

…

…

…

But you know…

…

…

…

It wouldn't be the story it was…

…

…

…

If it just ended there, right?

...

…

...

***  
I looked at the sky, as Ayako laid me down on the hill. She had given me a lollipop. The last lollipop I could have. I popped it in my mouth, and weakly waved at the others.

What was I thinking this whole time? Of course I was sad, or how others would see it as despair. However, I was happy that Ayako went off with her friends. She'd find someone that hoped just as big as her. Maybe even better than me?

I looked at the sky. The light was coming closer, and closer, and closer.

Was it the bomb? Yeah, it was the bomb…

It came closer… and closer… and closer…

As it came into contact with the ground, I smiled. I could feel the shockwaves sending my body into death. But I was able to utter one last word. My final word before I died.

"_Ayako…"_

…

…

...

_The game is now finished._

_Six students escaped._

_Keep the memory of the thirteen who died in your hearts._

_Because despair's journey isn't over yet._

_Far from it._

_There was the first Highschool Life of Mutual Killings._

_Then there was the Island Life of Mutual Killings._

_What's coming next?_

_Is it perhaps… just a little more…_

_**Despair?**_

_**THE END**_

**(AN: I hope that Epilogue wasn't disappointing, besides from the fact that Hideaki "died." Why did I use quotation marks? Is there a little hope left?**

**Or is that impossible? Never mind. **

**Anyways, I want to take the time again to thank everyone. Like I said, I lighted up with delight when an e-mail notification from Fanfiction was in my inbox, and it said you have a New Review or something else. I want to talk about the future now and what I'm going to do.**

**I tried to end the Epilogue in a little cliffhanger… ish. I'm writing a sequel to this story which will take after SDR2, so keep a look out for that. It won't be an SYOC, but I might do an SYOC later since they appear to be pretty popular. I like creating my own OCs anyways, since I can develop them better. But anyways, yeah! A sequel! Cool!**

**Aside from Danganronpa, I'm thinking of writing some more OC stories in other fandoms. Maybe which is flooded with AllenxKanda fictions, lol. Or maybe something else. I don't know. I'm thinking. **

**Don't know what else to say now. The story has ended, and it felt like just yesterday when I wrote the first chapter. It's been about a month and it really has gone fast…**

**Anyways, I sincerely hoped you all enjoyed this story. This storyline isn't over yet, though. There's just a little more despair.**

**~Captain Pancakes**


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